http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1217-12.htm
Published on Wednesday,
December 17, 2003 by OneWorld.net
Climate Change Leading to Diseases: WHO
by Rahul Verma
NEW DELHI - A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO)
says climate change is adversely affecting the health of millions
of people across the world, leading to the death of thousands,
and fueling diseases like diarrhea and malaria.
The study released
in Milan in Italy last week, estimates
that in 2000, 150,000 deaths were caused because of climate
change. It says climate change is responsible for 2.4 per
cent of all cases of diarrhea worldwide and for 2 per cent
of all malaria cases in the world.
"There is growing
evidence that changes in the global climate
will have profound effects on the health and well-being of
citizens in countries throughout the world," says Kerstin
Leitner, WHO assistant director-general for sustainable
development and healthy environments.
"We must better
understand the potential health effects
particularly for those who are most vulnerable, so that
we can better manage the risks," says Leitner.
The report -- released
at the ninth session of the Conference
of the Parties to The United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change in Milan -- examines the linkage between
climatic changes -- such as droughts, heavy rainfalls and
extreme weather conditions -- and the occurrence of infectious
diseases.
Rainfall, says the
study -- 'Climate Change and Human Health:
Risks and Responses' -- can influence the spread of diseases,
while temperature affects the growth and survival of an
infectious agent.
The effect of climate
change on the incidence of malaria
in India has also been documented by scientists working
on the issue in the south Asian nation. It is feared that
in the coming years, because of climatic changes, malaria
will spread to many parts of India where it is not yet
prevalent.
"Our studies indicate
that malaria will be prevalent
through the year in 10 percent more states in India,
including the southern states and Jammu and Kashmir
in the north," says Sumana Bhattacharya, expert consultant
at the New Delhi-based NATCOM -- or India's Initial National
Communication -- a nongovernmental organization (NGO)
set up by the Indian ministry of Environment and Forests.
The WHO study emphasizes
that the link between malaria
and extreme climatic events has for long been studied
in India. "Early last century, the river-irrigated Punjab
region experienced periodic malaria epidemics," says
the report.
"Excessive monsoon
rainfall and high humidity was
identified early on as a major influence, enhancing
mosquito breeding and survival. Recent analyses have
shown that the malaria epidemic risk increases around
five-fold in the year after an El Nino event," it says.
According to the study
-- authored by WHO in collaboration
with the United Nations Environment Programme, the World
Meteorological Organization and the United States
Environmental Protection Agency -- even small temperature
changes can increase the prevalence of malaria.
"Globally, temperature
increases of 2-3 degrees celsius
would increase the number of people who, in climatic terms,
are at risk of malaria by around 3-5 percent, that is
several hundred million," it says. The duration of malaria
would also increase in areas where it is now endemic,
the report says.
Bhattacharya, one of
the five editors of the Book
"Climate Change in India: Vulnerability, Assessment
and Adaptation, stresses that scientists are concerned
that climate change can lead to an increase in
temperature-related infections or diseases,
cardiovascular illnesses or vector-borne diseases
such as malaria, filaria, dengue or kala-azar.
"Health is affected
by extreme weather -- such as
cyclones, drought or heavy rain," she says.
Food security is another
issue that is negatively
impacted by climate change. "Fall in food production
can lead to hunger and malnutrition," points out
Bhattacharya.
The report urges governments
to focus more on
sustainability -- maintaining that development
does not adversely affect the Earth's ecological
and other systems. "If these systems decline, human
population well-being and health will be jeopardized,"
it says.
"Technology can
buy time, but nature's bottom-line
accounting cannot be evaded. We must live within
Earth's limits," it warns.
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OneWorld.net
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