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IndiaSpend
Nov 29, 2018 5:02 pm: IST
By Tish Sanghera
According to a new study, India has experienced 40 million additional events related to heat waves in 2016 compared to 2012, raising concerns about a "dangerous push" of negative impacts about health.
Exposure to a heat wave refers to a heat wave experienced by a person.
The frequency, intensity and duration of heatwaves in India have also increased over the last fifty years and the country will likely be among those most affected by climate change, given its' more fragile health systems and its poorer infrastructure, "said the study.
These are the results of a study entitled Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change – a global interdisciplinary research collaboration between 27 academic institutions and intergovernmental organizations, including the Foundation for Public Health of India (PHFI) and the Center for Environmental Health.
Tracking 41 indicators of finance and the economy, public and political engagement, mitigation measures, vulnerability, etc., the study uses data compiled by the Lancet Countdown, which documents the human impacts of climate change and provides public health recommendations in response.
The socio-economic impact of climate change
The study reveals that since 1990, all regions of the globe have become increasingly vulnerable to hot weather.
In 2017, an additional 157 million people worldwide were exposed to heatwaves compared to 2000, with the average person "suffering an additional 1.4 days of heat waves a year over the same period".
Increased exposure to heat can lead to reduced labor production, exacerbate urban air pollution, increase poorly equipped health systems to cope with the effects of heat stress, and promote the spread of disease such as cholera and dengue fever in endemic areas.
The swell rises in this rice field making it difficult to grow rice. Image courtesy of: NGS Southeast Asia
"Climate change threatens to undermine the public health gains of previous decades and is one of the greatest existential threats of this century," said Nick Watts, executive director, Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change.
"In the past, health professions and medical professions have come together and moved to address the health risks of tobacco, HIV and polio," Watts said. "We need a similar response to climate change".
India already bears significant "social and economic costs" related to climate change, with each additional tonne of carbon dioxide costing India $ 86, nearly double the US $ 48 Saudi Arabia ($ 47), according to a report. article published in Nature Climate change, a scientific journal.
This year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that, if the global community could not limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees as expected, the risks badociated with the climate for livelihoods, food security, health, water supply and human security will be further strengthened. intensify, IndiaSpend reported in October 2018.
It is therefore "essential" for India to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution, particularly targeting the use of coal, oil and natural gas.
While many sectors have begun "low-carbon transmission," slow progress and lack of preparedness for the effects of climate change over the past two or three decades threaten "human life and the sustainability of health systems to which they are attached. depend on, "warned the report.
Heat waves and heat stress
Over the past two decades, there has been a "noticeable increase" in the duration of heatwaves in India, as well as the number of Indians exposed to heatwaves, the report says.
The average duration of a heat wave increased by 150%, from 2 days in 2012 to nearly 5 days in 2016.
The number of people exposed to extreme heat throughout the country has also increased.
In 2012, just under 20 million people were exposed to heat waves, up from 60 million in 2016, an increase of 200%.
Heat wave in New Delhi. Reuters
Exposure to heat can increase the risk of multiple diseases and lead to heat stress – diseases that result from the body's inability to prevent its temperature from rising above normal.
Significant heat stroke, which occurs when central body temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius, can result in multiple organ failure, convulsions, and death, said the study.
The advanced implementation of action plans for local heat, as well as effective coordination between agencies, is an essential intervention tactic that the government can deploy to protect vulnerable groups, according to the study. This will require the identification of "heat hot spots", the badysis of meteorological data and the allocation of resources to crisis prone areas.
Loss of work
India has lost nearly 75 billion hours of work in 2017 due to rising temperatures "making hard work more and more difficult or possible" and weighing on workers' production.
This represents an increase of more than 30 billion hours since 2000 and accounts for less than 50% of the total hours lost worldwide (153 billion hours) in 2017.
The agriculture sector experienced the largest increase in lost labor, with 60 billion hours lost in 2017, up from 40 billion in 2000, an increase of 50%.
Although the industry and service sectors also experienced a similar trend in the reduction of work hours between 2000 and 2017, the inner and less demanding nature of this type of jobs meant that the losses did not increase. Were not as important as the agricultural sector.
"Climate-related impacts" on labor and the economy could be important for India, with 18 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) being tied to the agricultural sector, the report says.
Similarly, a decline in the standard of living, due to reduced rainfall and temperature changes, could affect a little more than half of the population in agriculture-related jobs.
An urgent review of workplace health standards and labor laws that govern maximum working hours and safe working conditions must be done, according to the study.
Carbon emissions exacerbating premature deaths
India's reliance on fossil fuels contributes to high levels of ambient air pollution that contain PM 2.5 – fine particles 30 times finer than human hair, known to pose the most high risk for humans – which in turn leads to premature death.
Coal pollution alone is responsible for 107,000 deaths per year in India – just under three-quarters (73,000) are due to use in power plants, 24,000 to industry use, and 10,000 from domestic coal consumption.
Land transport is "responsible for a substantial number" of PM 2.5 deaths, accounting for 12.5% of the annual total. However, these emissions can be addressed by improving transport infrastructure.
A man rides his bicycle next to Indian soldiers marching in front of India's door on a foggy morning in New Delhi. Reuters
India's urban population is growing rapidly and is expected to grow increase of 416 million between 2018 and 2050, much of the growth took place in small non-1 cities. These cities should meet the transportation needs of the population through public infrastructure, limiting the increase number of motorists and controlling car pollution, suggested the study.
Ahmedabad and Pune, two cities "with a remarkable growth rate", have a high proportion of motorized transport users (vehicle users), accounting for 42% and 48% of all modes of transport used.
Raising awareness of these issues related to pollution, badociated health risks and climate change is an essential means of mobilizing preventative actions, the study said.
Media coverage of climate change and health problems has increased by 40% worldwide over the last decade, thanks to strong increases in Southeast Asia. The times of India and Hindustan Times showed a 458% and 415% increase in climate-related coverage between 2007 and 2017 respectively.
Increased coverage by regional and non-English media of climate change and health problems in all states can further help stimulate a "state policy response by state".
The author is a writer and researcher at IndiaSpend.
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