India Faces Rising Heat Stress: Infants and Seniors Bear the Brunt, Says Lancet Report

In India, over the last decade, infants and adults aged 65 or above were exposed to about eight heatwave days each year on average, increases of 47 per cent for infants and 58 per cent for older adults, compared to 1990-1999, according to a new report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. 

In 2023 alone, people in India were found to be exposed to a moderate or higher risk of heat stress for about 2,400 hours or 100 days, while performing light outdoor activities such as walking, the eighth annual report, reflecting the work of 122 experts from 57 academic institutions and UN agencies globally, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), found. 

Published ahead of the 29th UN Conference of the Parties, or 'COP29', the report revealed a country-wise assessment of how climate change is affecting people's health. 

It showed that 10 of the 15 indicators that help track health threats to people around the world due to global warming, including rising nighttime temperatures and extreme precipitation, reached concerning new records. 

Further, estimating economic impacts of heat in India, the report found that the agricultural sector was the worst hit from potential income loss due to a reduced capacity of labour in 2023—to the tune of over USD 71.9 billion in potential losses. 

Overall, in 2023, about 181 billion labour hours were potentially lost due to exposure to heat in India—an increase of 50 per cent from those lost during 1990-1999. 

The report provides the most up-to-date assessment of the links between health and climate change, the authors said. 

With health threats due to climate change reaching concerning levels, the authors are calling out governments and companies who continue "fuelling the fire" by investing in fossil fuels, all-time high greenhouse gas emissions, and years of delay in adapting, thereby endangering survival of people around the world. 

Burning fossil fuels lead to high levels of air pollution, which has been studied to increase risk of varied conditions, including respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological ones. 

Transitioning to renewable energy would lower air pollution, thereby mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and benefitting human health, the authors said. 

Further, as the planet continues to warm, climatic conditions have become increasingly conducive for the spread of vector-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria, they said. 

During 2014-2023, the length of India's coastline presenting conditions suitable for the transmission of Vibrio pathogens, which spread diseases such as cholera, at any time in a year was 23 per cent more than that in 1990-1999, the report said. 

Also, in the last decade, the frontline population—that living within 100 kilometres from coastal waters with conditions suitable for Vibrio transmission—surpassed 210 million, the authors found.