New Delhi: The Lancet Countdown’s Sixth Annual Report ‘NSHealth and climate change: the red code for a healthier future‘ Highlights the increasing risks to health and the climate. It mentions 44 indicators of health impacts directly related to climate change. Because of the risks, the health hazards are becoming increasingly serious. Communities where food and water insecurity are rampant, and those exposed to the spread of infectious diseases, suffer the most. The authors of the report claim that urgent action is needed to integrate climate change mitigation into Covid-19 recovery plans and create a sustainable future for all.
The link between the healthcare system and climate change
Many Covid-19 recovery plans have long-term health implications because they are not compatible with the Paris Agreement, which was signed in 2015.
The world continues to give subsidies, despite the fact that burning fossil fuels causes environmental pollution. The 82 countries surveyed by Lancet Countdown researchers in 2018 were found to be responsible for about 92 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Adults over the age of 65 were affected by heatwave exposure of 3.1 billion more days than the baseline average from 1986 to 2005. The most affected senior citizens were from China, India, the US, Japan and Indonesia.
Climate change favors transmission of infectious diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya, zika, malaria and cholera.
In the future, there will be climate-induced health shocks, but health care systems are not properly prepared for them. Even now, the health system is poorly prepared. According to a survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), only 45 out of 91 countries were assessed for climate change and health vulnerability in 2021.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc since 2020, there is a need to increase international cooperation. Governments and politicians must act at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 31 October to 12 November. To ensure better health and a more equitable and sustainable future, there must be rapid reduction in carbon emissions by countries.
The economies of all countries have suffered a major setback due to the pandemic. To restart their economies, countries have committed trillions of dollars. The authors of the Lancet report urge policy leaders to use money to reduce inequalities. Healthy populations can be created by creating new and green jobs (jobs that contribute to the restoration of the environment) and protecting health.
Large subsidies for fossil fuels and limited financial support for clean energy make it impossible to meet a maximum of 1.5 °C of warming, a key objective of the Paris Agreement. People living in low-income countries are most affected by limited financial support for clean energy. The contribution of these countries to climate change is relatively small. The government must promote jobs in zero-carbon energy to achieve the target of a maximum of 1.5 °C warming.
The WHO Survey of Health and Climate Change, conducted in 2021, shows that 45 of the 91 countries analyzed had national health and climate change strategies. Of these countries, only eight countries reported that human and financial resources were allocated to improve the health of citizens after assessing that climate change had affected their health. Also, 69 percent of 91 countries reported that they were unable to implement their climate change plans because of insufficient funding.
Unabated increase in the health effects of climate change
The consensus of leading researchers from 38 academic institutions and United Nations agencies is represented by the Lancet countdown report. The report noted that the health effects of climate change are increasing steadily.
Countries with very high Human Development Index, including European countries, are increasingly prone to dengue, chikungunya and Zika outbreaks. The cold highland regions of countries with low Human Development Index are showing increased suitability for malaria infection.
People living in northern Europe and the coasts around the Americas are more likely to be infected with the bacteria that cause gastroenteritis, severe wound infections, and sepsis. Such an increase in the spread of infectious diseases has been observed even in countries with limited resources.
People who live less than five meters above current sea level are at risk of increased flooding, more severe storms, and salinization of soil and water. About 569.6 million people could face this situation, and many of them were left with no option but to evacuate their homes and migrate inland.
Maria Romanello, lead author of the Lancet Countdown report, expressed concern over the fact that there has been little improvement in areas such as emissions reduction, promoting renewable energy and tackling pollution, according to a statement from the Lancet. He said that this year many people have been affected by the scorching heat, deadly floods and forest fires.
He said governments are spending trillions of dollars on Covid-19 recovery plans that give us the opportunity to take a safe, healthy, low-carbon path, but that path has not yet been chosen.
He said that even when we recover from Covid-19, we still have time to take a different path and create a healthier future for all.
Key findings of the Lancet countdown report
The disparities in the global response to climate change are highlighted by the data in the report. Countries with the lowest Human Development Index are often the least responsible for rising greenhouse gas emissions. However, they put little effort into adaptation and mitigation of climate change and do not realize the associated health benefits of accelerated decarbonisation.
Extreme drought affected up to 19 percent of the global land surface in any given month in 2020. This is worrying because the value never went above 13 percent between 1950 and 1999. Drought events intensify and become more frequent due to climate change. There is an increased risk of wildfires, and pollutant exposure, and threats to water security, sanitation and food productivity. One of the most affected regions in 2020 was the Horn of Africa, as it was hit by frequent extreme droughts and food insecurity.
In 2019, food insecurity exacerbated by climate change affected 2 billion people. The time taken for plants to mature decreases with increasing temperature, which means that yields are reduced and the pressure on food systems increases.
For example, the reduction in crop yield potential for maize, wheat and rice has been six per cent, three per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, from 1981 to 2010 over crop yield potential levels.
maximum Of the 136 coastal countries analysed, about 70 percent showed an increase in the mean sea surface temperature of the territorial waters. As 3.3 billion people worldwide depend on seafood, this rise in sea surface temperatures signals a growing threat to their seafood security.
The WHO conducted the Health and Climate Change Global Survey in 2021, to which 70 countries responded. Some of these countries claimed that the Covid-19 restrictions and lack of research and evidence prevented them from developing national health and climate change strategies.
Of the total global climate change adaptation funding, only 0.3 percent is directed at health systems.
.