Bhubaneswar: With increasing exposure to heat and environmental changes, India is facing a mounting threat of climate-sensitive diseases like malaria and dengue across the country. 

According to the new Lancet report, India is seeing an alarming spread of climate-sensitive infectious diseases like malaria and dengue due to climate change thereby necessitating the need for an improved healthcare infrastructure, policies, more awareness at community-level and climate-integrated forecasting. 

Developed by 122 experts, the eighth Lancet Countdown on health and climate change, also stated that India would need better flood adaptation plans as coastal areas are more susceptible with rising sea levels. While the Himalayan region is witnessing a rising spread of malaria, the rest of the country is seeing rising cases of dengue. 

Apart from that, the evidence-based report also revealed that 10 out of 15 indicators tracking health risks have hit new records in 2023 with 50 days of temperatures reaching levels potentially harmful to human health.

"The findings denote an urgent call to action for India to revitalise its health and climate policies, prioritise financial investments, and build a robust adaptive response to protect its population from the ever-intensifying threats posed by climate change," it said.

Between 2014 and 2023, 61 per cent of global land area saw extreme precipitation events with rise in risks of flooding and diseases. Apart from that, the relentless rise in global temperatures led to storms, floods, extreme heatwaves, droughts and forest fires

In 2023, the world grappled with unprecedented climatic challenges, marking the year as the hottest on record. As per the report, people faced an average of 1,512 hours of high temperatures that posed at least a moderate risk of heat stress - a 27.7 per cent increase from the 1990s. This exposure translated into a loss of 512 billion potential labour hours and an estimated 835$ billion in global income losses, impacting low- and middle-income countries substantially.

The rising temperatures also saw a consequent rise in mosquito-borne diseases like dengue with 2023 seeing an all-time high of over 5 million cases worldwide. The changing climate has also precipitated conducive environments for malaria, West Nile virus, and vibriosis, even in areas previously untouched by these illnesses.

Even as infectious diseases surged, the rising heat cast a shadow on food security, water supply and crop yields. In 2023, a record-high 48 per cent of global land area experienced atleast one month of extreme drought, which, according the report, is the second highest level since 1951.