New Delhi: The record-breaking heatwave that hit the Indian subcontinent during March and April was 30 times more likely to have happened due to climate change, a study published in the medical journal, The Lancet, has found.
India experienced its hottest March in 122 years, with Delhi touching the wet-bulb temperature threshold several multiple times.
Heat-related mortality also increased by 68 per cent globally, for people above 65 years, between 2000-2004 and 2017-2021, the study said.
In the annual Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change published Tuesday – which looked at 103 countries – researchers found that 1.2 million people worldwide died from exposure to particulate matter – tiny particles that lodge themselves inside the lungs – in 2021.
Impact on health
Exposure to heat led to the loss of 470 billion potential labour hours in 2021 – a 37% increase from the period 1990–99 – with an average of 139 hours lost per person.
Keeping the baseline average in 1991–2000, the report stated that the number of annual hours of moderate-risk of heat stress during light outdoor physical activity increased globally in 2012–21 by an average of 281 (33% increase) hours per person and high-risk heat stress increased by 238 (42%) hours.
The study said that exposure to extreme heat was associated with acute kidney injury, heatstroke, adverse pregnancy outcomes, worsened sleep patterns and increases in non-accidental and injury related deaths.
“Exposure to extreme heat also affects health indirectly by restricting people’s capacity to work and exercise,” the study said.
The Lancet report stated that the full health impacts of lost income, increased hospitalisations, and food and energy insecurity, in addition to the outburst flood of a glacial lake and forest fires, haven’t yet been quantified.
Health at the mercy of fossil fuels
The report asserted that global health is at the “mercy of our still burgeoning dependence on fossil fuels”, and pointed to increasing emissions as the primary cause of the planet warming up. The demand for energy has increased by 59 per cent, with energy-related emissions reaching a historical high in 2021. Current trends reflect a global temperature increase of 2.7 degrees Celsius, a far cry from 2015’s Paris Agreement, which vowed to cap it at 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The healthcare sector contributes to 5 percent of global emissions, said the report, which studied 37 global health systems. It found that the US emitted 50 times more carbon than India per person. However, the US also had the sixth lowest life expectancy at birth, proving that higher transmissions do not translate into better healthcare.
“Persistent fossil fuel over-dependence is rapidly worsening climate change, leading to dangerous health impacts around the world. The data shows that no country is safe,” the study underlined.
It also highlighted that the geopolitical scenario was taking some countries back to coal, in search for alternatives to Russian oil and gas, which could also hinder progress on air quality.
Food insecurity
Extreme heat is also causing heightened ‘food insecurity’, with 98 million experiencing it to varying degrees. As of July 2022, India was home to 37 per cent of these ‘food insecure’ citizens.
“The increasingly extreme weather worsens the stability of global food systems, acting in synergy with other concurrent crises to reverse progress towards hunger eradication”, said the study.
The Lancet report comes weeks before COP27, which is set to be held in Egypt from 6 to 18 November.
Responding to the report, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres proclaimed: “the climate crisis is killing us.”
“It is undermining not just the health of our planet, but the health of people everywhere – through toxic air pollution, diminishing food security, higher risks of infectious disease outbreaks, record extreme heat, drought, floods and more,” he said.
Guterres had visited India last week for the launch of ‘Mission LiFE’ – life is an acronym for lifestyle and environment – to encourage “climate friendly behaviour” in India. In reference to the upcoming climate summit – the UN chief said that, “With its vulnerability to climate impacts and massive economy, India can play a critical bridging role.”
Also read: ‘Time running out’: UN weather agency warns world is heading in ‘wrong direction’