Climate Change makes children vulnerable to infectious diseases: Study

What is the News?

A study conducted by researchers from the Banaras Hindu University(BHU) shows that climate change is making children vulnerable to infectious diseases. 

About the study

The study was conducted to probe the association between climate parameters and infectious diseases in children under 16-years-of-age in Varanasi city in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain.

What are the key findings of the study?

Climate Change driven by human-made activities is making children vulnerable to infectious diseases.

The climate parameters like temperature, humidity, rainfall, solar radiation, and wind speed accounted for 9-18% of the total infectious disease cases while non-climate parameters account for the rest. 

For example, a 1 degree Celsius rise in maximum temperature was associated with an increase in diarrhoea and skin-disease cases by 3.97% and 3.94%, respectively.

Significance of this study

The findings from the study will help to get the attention of government and policymakers to prioritise effective measures for child health, as the present association may increase disease burden in the future under climate-change scenarios.

Source: This post is based on the article “Climate Change makes children vulnerable to infectious diseases: Study” published in PIB on 13th Dec 2021.