Impact of Climate Changes on Human Health in India

Abstract

The impact of climate change has been considerably enough to threaten human health both directly and indirectly through increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, water and food supply impacts, extreme weather events like floods, droughts, earthquakes, etc., susceptible shelter and population migration. Direct effect of environmental circumstances may ease the diffusion of vector-borne diseases, water-borne diseases, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory allergies and malnutrition, etc. Indirect effects of climate change such as mental health problems and involuntary migration are also important. Children, the elderly and communities are living in poverty among the most susceptible of the damaging effects due to climate change. Environmental consequences climate change, such as extreme heat wave, rising sea-levels, changes in precipitation resulting in cyclones, earthquake, flooding and droughts, intense hurricanes and degraded air quality, affect directly and indirectly the physical, social and psychological health of humans. For instance, changes in precipitations are creating changes in the availability and quality of water, as well as resulting in extreme weather events such as intense hurricanes and flooding. Seeing the cumulative trend of impact of climate change on human health, implementation of alleviation measures like consolidation health systems and service delivery mechanisms through early monitoring, disease investigation, vector and disease control, and health insurance to counter the same becomes authoritative. Investment in research and development, health risk calculation studies, susceptibility mapping studies, formation of baseline circumstances, scenario modeling and acceptance of clean expansion mechanisms, etc. are the need of the hour. Economics would play a major role in combating the potential threat. Countries with good GDP would be able to introduce the best available tools of intervention and can fill up the lacunae in health system.