Chapter 17 - Urban ecology and human health: implications of urban heat island, air pollution and climate change nexus

Abstract

The urban population has increased from about 750 million in 1951 to 4.2 billion in 2018. This uncontrolled population growth has resulted in an unplanned, fast and unsustainable urban development. Due to this, environmental conditions at the local and global ecosystem levels have deteriorated. However, the public health aspect of urban ecology has gained importance in the last few years only, especially due to two emerging challenges, viz., Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and urban air quality. The UHI effect has caused an increase in the incidence of heat stress/heat stroke, exhaustion and suicidal tendencies. UHI can also destabilize and change the air circulation pattern around cities that can cause precipitation in nearby areas thus developing new ecological implications. Air pollution has caused an increased risk of premature mortality, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and mental disorders. Loss of green spaces, unplanned built spaces and increased anthropogenic emissions are a major concern, particularly in weaker sections of society, children and elderly population with preexisting medical conditions in developed and underdeveloped nations. The study of the combined effect of UHI and air pollution on public health will be the most important in the era of climate change. Thus, this chapter highlights impacts of urbanization on public health considering local and global consequences of disturbances in urban ecosystem and climate change and also possible mitigation and adaptation strategies which can be integrated into urban ecosystems to improve the quality of life and public health.