Human-induced climate change has evidently shown that we need to wake up or else we will continue to suffer.Climate change is highly complex. Scientists bring distressing reports about the changing climate- Warmer temperatures, flash floods, drought, landslides and frequent earthquakes.Each of these disasters creates major risks, threatening human health and biodiversity. Natural calamities headlines slap us often and the cases are just piling up.
This week, The Pioneer decides to look at the issue of climate change in India, the roadmap prepared by the scientists and government and what are the health hazards? Tanisha Saxena looks closely at the impact of climate change in India, roadmaps prepared by scientists, policy initiatives of the government and ways of tackling some of the health hazards.
Climate change due to anthropogenic factors has made it imperative for humans to wake up pronto; otherwise, things will only worsen. Climate change is highly complex in its dimensions and far-reaching impact. Scientists bring distressing reports about the changing climate: warmer temperatures, flash floods, drought, landslides, frequent earthquakes, and weather extremes. Each of these disasters creates major risks, threatening human health and biodiversity.
“When the well is dry, we know the worth of water,” said Benjamin Franklin, American polymath who also contributed to the fields of meteorology and climate studies.According to the United Nations, India is the seventh most affected country due to climate change in terms of fatalities as well as economic losses.Extreme weather events due to climate change have led to seventeen out of twenty people in India being vulnerable to disasters like flood, cyclone, droughts, etc. If we look at some of the major challenges, undoubtedly the top slot goes to air pollution.
According to the World Air Quality Report 2023, India ranks 8th among 131 nations studied. The two Indian cities in the ranking of the world's most polluted city are Bhiwadi, on Delhi’s outskirts, which had pollution levels at 92.7, and Delhi followed close behind at 92.6. Incidentally, India is the third largest carbon emitter in the world.
UNICEF’s 2021 report titled ‘The Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index’?(CCRI), presents the first child-focused global climate risk index. The report shows that India is at 26 th ?position among the 163 countries ranked. This implies that children in India are among the most ‘at-risk’ categories when it comes to the impacts of climate changes.
Impact on health
As per a report, in more than 27 studies, it has been shown that an acute increase in air pollution plays a significant role in asthma flare-ups. Nearly 15% of flare-ups in asthmatic children were found to be attributed to TRAP (Traffic-related air pollution), especially in homes close to roadways with a heavy truck traffic density.
Hence, children exposed to higher levels of NO2, Ozone, PM 2.5 and PM 10 for a longer duration have lower lung function and lung growth. With increased life expectancy, they might unmask asthma in the future and have the potential of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Furthermore, prenatal exposure to NO2, SO2, PM 2.5, and PM 10 can affect the lung growth in a foetus, which can be associated with an increased risk of asthma in childhood.
Doctor Chetan R Mundada, Senior Pediatrician and Pediatrician Intensivist, KIMS Hospitals, Secunderabad, sheds light on the impact of air pollution on lung function. He says: “Testing needs more evidence to establish correlation between air pollution and allergies. Measurements of metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and cotinine/creatinine ratio in urine perhaps can be a guide to the amount of air pollution and secondhand smoke exposure.
The exposure to contaminated air and food or water can cause infection/allergy. These days I am looking at children who have been suffering from vector- borne and water-borne diseases. I would say that these days the people are much more aware than they were say five years back.The government declares holiday during flash floods or heatwaves or other such situations. Online education is normal now and children can miss attending the school in adverse scenarios.
I would add that the reaction to combat climate change depends on socio-economic factors too. Everyone can’t afford an air purifier and good quality of water supply.” He refers to a study quoting the content of the researchers, “Allergic respiratory diseases are affected by climate change and that climate change can be considered a threat to global health, affecting food supplies, water and air quality, and climate.
Present-day knowledge is taken from experimental and epidemiological studies on the relationship between allergic respiratory diseases, asthma, and environmental factors, such as meteorological variables, airborne allergens, and air pollution, while studies on respiratory allergy triggered by climate change are still lacking. Urbanization with its high levels of vehicle emissions, and a westernized lifestyle are linked to the rising frequency of respiratory allergic diseases and bronchial asthma observed over recent decades in most industrialized countries. Climatic factors (thunderstorms, temperature, humidity, and wind speed) can affect both interaction.”
As global temperatures tend to rise resulting in hyperthermia, it affects our brain and body in many ways than one. “There is an increased prevalence of stroke, migraine, seizures, and dementia. Excessive heat exposure can cause oxidative damage and neurodegeneration. Indirectly, as climate changes affect food, water, and air quality; it in turn affects our health too.
Our bodies and brain work best at an optimum temperature and when that is increased, they don't work to their best capability. Psychologically speaking, as we constantly hear about deleterious effect of climate change and what it does to us and generations to come, it results in climate anxiety and panic attacks in severe cases.We also see increased prevalence of seasonal affective disorder with rapid mood changes. Inattention, poor memory recall and other cognitive disturbances are noticed with climate change as well,” observes Dr Charan Teja Koganti, Consultant Psychiatrist at KIMS Hospitals.
Rise in the average temperature
India’s average temperature has risen by around 0.7°C during 1901–2018. This rise in temperature is largely on account of GHG-induced warming, partially offset by forcing due to anthropogenic aerosols and changes in land use and land cover (LULC).
By the end of the twenty-first century, average temperature over India is projected to rise by approximately 4.4°C relative to the recent past (1976–2005 average). In the recent 30-year period (1986–2015), temperatures of the warmest day and the coldest night of the year have risen by about 0.63°C and 0.4°C, respectively.
Experts have said that by the end of the twenty-first century, these temperatures are projected to rise by approximately 4.7°C and 5.5°C, respectively, relative to the corresponding temperatures in the recent past (1976–2005 average). In addition, the frequencies of occurrence of warm days and warm nights are projected to increase by 55% and 70%, respectively, relative to the reference period 1976-2005.
The frequency of summer (April–June) heat waves over India is projected to be 3 to 4 times higher by the end of the twenty- first century as compared to the 1976–2005 baseline period. The average duration of heat wave events is also expected to approximately double, but with a substantial spread among models. Studies have also pointed out that, in response to the combined rise in surface temperature and humidity, amplification of heat stress is expected across India, particularly over the Indo-Gangetic and Indus river basins.
Young trailblazers
In 2019, more than 46 million young people and children from over 150 countries around the world went on a climate strike. It was symbolic of the fact that the future belongs to the young minds. “I have a small message to our leaders.You are just giving beautiful speeches but you are doing nothing. You are just busy blaming each other instead of finding a long-term solution. Your action today will decide our future tomorrow.
My generation is already the victim of climate change. I don’t want my future generation to face the same consequences again because of your inaction and empty false promises concrete climate action now for our better, cleaner & safer future,” says Licypriya Kangujam, 11-year-old Indian climate activist and founder of The Child Movement & Special Envoy of the President of Timor Leste. Licypriya continues: “Today’s climate crisis is caused by the rich nations and we are just the victims of it.
That is why we are demanding climate justice from the rich countries to the global south. We want urgent climate finance now to solve the global climate crisis. Most of the natural disasters are human-induced climate disasters. Massive deforestation, excessive mining activities and burning of fossil fuels are leading causes of the climate crisis.Our leaders are responsible for it, but children are bearing the burden of today’s climate crisis. My city Delhi is facing extreme heatwaves crisis in the summer and severe air pollution crisis in the winter throughout the years. This is global climate crisis.”
The voice of the children is crucial in fighting the climate change. “That’s why I have been campaigning for the last five years to make climate education mandatory in the school education curriculum in every school in India and in every country of the world. From zero to over thousands of schools have now started climate education in their schools after my request in India. This is indeed a big change with our little voice.
Science is very clear that we have all the solutions to tackle the climate crisis globally. Only thing left now is climate action and to fulfil the promises made by our leaders. We need to believe in science. Young people must hold lawmakers accountable for their political decisions. India is slowly realizing the impact of climate change. Still, it will take time as the general population still lack knowledge of climate crisis and concern about it though we are already the victim of climate change,” says Licypriya.
She strongly believes that the role of our leaders and the government is very crucial in fighting climate change. We need just transition away from coals, oil, and gas: the top causes of climate crisis today. “We need more bicycles lane in every street of India so that it will make zero air pollution, zero carbon emissions, zero traffic problems, zero noise pollution and it will save our valuable green spaces from development.
This small step itself can make a huge difference in fighting the climate crisis in India. And we need to shut down all the coal power plants in India and replace them by clean solar and other renewable energies. We need a mass revolution,” concludes Licypriya.
Awareness is key
“We should include environmental concerns in our pedagogy and name the forces responsible for climate disaster. The major factor is strong capitalist lobbies such plastic as the one producing stuff nonbiodegradable, growing consumerism, real estate boom etc. And how they destroy flora and fauna. State patronage to real estate who keep converting natural landscapes in real estate.This is happening all over the globe,” shares Pushpesh Mishra, teacher of sociology in University of Hyderabad.
India is a diverse country. Climate change is the consequence of human actions. We are experiencing extreme heat even in the month of November now. Recent Himachal Pradesh floods have highlighted the need to insulate high-risk regions and avoid construction.
While development has lifted thousands of people out of poverty, it has also triggered natural calamities. Rampant deforestation in the Western Ghats causes recurring floods in southern India. In addition, unorganised development has furthered the damage to nature. We are constantly constructing buildings, offices, hotels in extreme hilly areas. But we didn’t care about the ecological imbalance it creates.
Anil Rachamalla, founder & CEO of End Now Foundation, believes that the city can be better planned. “The weather can be forecast better; presently, it lacks accuracy most of the time. Moreover, we need in-time solutions and no long-term solutions. In the US, we go outside only after seeing weather.com and their predictions are too accurate. On the contrary, here in India, weather conditions are never taken seriously by people and mostly of these predictions are inaccurate. To make it worse during the flood and other natural calamities, police and other authorities come at the last minute on the road and post on social media as if they are the only ones working.
Our system is so corrupt that the affected people don’t even get proper attention and care. The policies need to be implemented strictly. I also think that it is crucial to educate the common people about what little they can do.Although people here are aware and keep discussing the changes that they are observing sudden changes in temperature, they are not aware of their own actions that has in some ways led to this situation. I think the government should work at the grassroots level of the country and impart education relating to environment and the importance of sustainability,” says Anil.
The Government of India launched the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) on 30thJune, 2008 outlining eight National Missions. India is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, its Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement. Under the Paris Agreement in 2015, India had submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) balancing the concerns and priorities of climate change, sustainable development, including poverty eradication, and economic growth of the country. In August 2022, India updated its NDC, according to which, India has an enhanced target to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 from the 2005 level, achieve about 50 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
“As it has been prescribed by experts that climate is changing at a rapid pace, the government is playing its role simultaneously. The National Action Plan on Climate Change is one such example.The Government has taken pledge to focus more on renewable energy, solar energy, water, sustainable agriculture and planting more trees.
Greenhouse Summit was held in 1992 at the global level and climate change and sustainable energy was the proposal.The Government has also reduced the price of electric vehicles in the recent past. No taxation or less taxation on electric vehicles.
Encouraging people to plant more trees, raising social awareness, funding NGOs to take more actions are a few steps that the government has taken in the past. All human beings are equally responsible for climate change.The government itself is doing great but not sufficient. As the damage is much more than the little we have been doing, it will take time to show concrete results,” says Ojas Khan, a geography teacher at an institute in Hyderabad.
In conclusion, we need to develop strategic approaches for improving the condition of the earth and the overall ecosystem.As human beings, we tend to adapt ourselves in different situations at any cost.Experts fear that this trait could be a sign of apathy towards environmental issues.
