A liveable planet must remain on the agenda

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However, with landslides and floods hitting Kerala, Rajasthan facing scorching heat and water scarcity, urban flooding in Bengaluru, severe cold waves in Northern India, Himachal Pradesh’s prolonged monsoon season lifting its dengue case count, forest fires devastating Uttarakhand, and India experiencing its hottest October in 123 years in 2024, it feels as if the climate crisis is unfurling simultaneously across the country against a ticking clock. A study recently found that more than half of India’s population residing in over 340 districts are highly vulnerable to the health effects of climate change.

This can also escalate healthcare costs, threaten access to water and food, impact livelihoods and productivity, and deepen poverty. Heat exposure in India in 2022 alone resulted in an estimated income loss to the tune of US$219 billion--6.3% of the country’s GDP, according to an India Spend report that cited Lancet data.

Observing the interconnectedness of India’s climate and health crises presents an urgent reminder that our window of opportunity to act is closing and we cannot afford to carry on business as usual, in today’s day and age. A critical target that we must steer action towards is reshaping the climate action agenda around health – and the World Health Organization’s emphasis on embedding health into conversations at the UN COP29 marked an encouraging step forward.