Majra J P, Gur A
Department of Community Medicine, K. S. Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore, India.
Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2009 Apr;13(1):11-6. doi: 10.4103/0019-5278.50717.
Overwhelming evidence shows that climate change presents growing threats to public health security - from extreme weather-related disasters to wider spread of such vector-borne diseases as malaria and dengue. The impacts of climate on human health will not be evenly distributed around the world. The Third Assessment Report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-2001) concluded that vulnerability to climate change is a function of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Developing country populations, particularly in small island states, arid and high mountain zones, and in densely populated coastal areas are considered to be particularly vulnerable. India is a large developing country, with the Great Himalayas, the world's third largest ice mass in the north, 7500 km long, and densely populated coast line in the south. Nearly 700 million of her over one billion population living in rural areas directly depends on climate-sensitive sectors (agriculture, forests, and fisheries) and natural resources (such as water, biodiversity, mangroves, coastal zones, grasslands) for their subsistence and livelihoods. Heat wave, floods (land and coastal), and draughts occur commonly. Malaria, malnutrition, and diarrhea are major public health problems. Any further increase, as projected in weather-related disasters and related health effects, may cripple the already inadequate public health infrastructure in the country. Hence, there is an urgent need to respond to the situation. Response options to protect health from effects of climate change include mitigation as well as adaptation. Both can complement each other and together can significantly reduce the risks of climate change.
大量证据表明，气候变化对公共卫生安全构成了日益严重的威胁——从与极端天气相关的灾害到疟疾和登革热等媒介传播疾病的更广泛传播。气候对人类健康的影响在全球范围内分布并不均匀。第三次评估报告（政府间气候变化专门委员会——2001年）得出结论，对气候变化的脆弱性是暴露程度、敏感度和适应能力的函数。发展中国家的人口，特别是小岛屿国家、干旱和高山地区以及人口密集的沿海地区的人口，被认为特别脆弱。印度是一个大型发展中国家，北部有世界第三大冰体——长达7500公里的大喜马拉雅山脉，南部有人口密集的海岸线。印度超过10亿人口中有近7亿生活在农村地区，他们的生存和生计直接依赖于对气候敏感的部门（农业、森林和渔业）以及自然资源（如水、生物多样性、红树林、沿海地区、草原）。热浪、洪水（陆地和沿海）以及干旱频繁发生。疟疾、营养不良和腹泻是主要的公共卫生问题。正如与天气相关的灾害及相关健康影响所预测的那样，任何进一步的增加都可能使该国本就不足的公共卫生基础设施陷入瘫痪。因此，迫切需要应对这种情况。保护健康免受气候变化影响的应对选项包括减缓以及适应。两者可以相互补充，共同显著降低气候变化的风险。
