Context: Health threat due to COVID is well understood around the world. But, the enormous health threat of global warming is under-recognized and poorly understood.
Health threat due to climate change
Hotter temperatures lead to a higher incidence of heatstroke.
Prolonged droughts, just like severe floods, reduce agricultural productivity and output.
Rising sea levels turn drinking water saltier, which increases rates of high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia and premature births.
Severe floods cause raw sewage to flow into streets and contaminate drinking water, spreading infection. They also destroy crops, driving malnutrition.
Eg. During the 2020 monsoon season in Bangladesh, water flooded a quarter of the country. More than 1.3 million homes were damaged and hundreds of people died.
Way forward
Learning from successes and shortcomings of pandemic response that how narrow national interests and socioeconomic inequality can limit access to affordable options, prolonging the crisis.
Eg. No progress on waiving IPR on vaccine technologies.
Governments should engage civil- society organizations to support efforts in the coming decades to address the health challenges brought about by climate change.
Build a collaborative global process that generates, values, and uses scientific evidence to act on climate change and improve health for everyone.
Evidence and research should be at heart of policymaking: Fund research that enables us to better understand and address the negative effects of global warming on health.
Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions: Cutting emissions can have a direct, positive effect on health.
Global transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy could increase average life expectancy globally by at least one year.
Widespread adoption of diets rich in vegetables and low in meat will reduce greenhouse gases and decrease the risk of heart disease, cancer and dementia.
Engaging local governments to help people adapt to life on a warmer planet: By designing a series of creative options that people can use to protect themselves and communities from climate change.
Eg.Planting mangrove forests to counter growing threats of floods.
International coordination and new knowledge generation that can be delivered by an agreed global strategy on climate and health.