{"title":"Responding to heat-related health risks: the urgency of an equipoise between emergency and equity","authors":"Prof Purnamita Dasgupta PhD , Prof Vikram Dayal PhD , Prof Rajib Dasgupta PhD , Prof Kristie L Ebi PhD , Clare Heaviside PhD , William Joe PhD , Rupa Kumar Kolli PhD , Prof Meeta Keswani Mehra PhD , Arabinda Mishra PhD , Prof Pankaja Raghav MD","doi":"10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00246-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the summer of 2024, there were higher temperatures than usual in several parts of India. Temperatures in Delhi, a huge city with millions of residents, broke several previous records. Low-income households have dwellings that do not offer much protection from the heat, and individuals struggle to access basic amenities, such as water. With accumulating evidence on consequent impacts for mortality and morbidity, governance structures are seeking to respond in a timely and efficient manner. There is a need to recognise that heat-related illnesses and deaths are not best addressed merely as an acute disaster but as public health and economic challenges that require planned responses. Responses that are sustainable and equitable combine long-term structural efforts at resilience building with emergency preparedness and prove to be most effective in averting the largely preventable deaths, morbidities, and economic shocks arising from heat-related health risks among exposed and vulnerable communities. Joint action on climate and health enhances achievement of multiple developmental goals with multistakeholder participation. Diverse sectors, including medical care, surveillance, risk communication, disaster preparedness, livelihoods and jobs, and adaptation and urban planning, are needed to raise public awareness and engagement, induce behavioural change, and focus resources for the much-needed structural changes in urban planning and health systems that can save lives and avert damages. To reduce heat-related health risks, vulnerability, inequity, and climate action in the Indian context must be urgently addressed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48548,"journal":{"name":"Lancet Planetary Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":24.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Lancet Planetary Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519624002468","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In the summer of 2024, there were higher temperatures than usual in several parts of India. Temperatures in Delhi, a huge city with millions of residents, broke several previous records. Low-income households have dwellings that do not offer much protection from the heat, and individuals struggle to access basic amenities, such as water. With accumulating evidence on consequent impacts for mortality and morbidity, governance structures are seeking to respond in a timely and efficient manner. There is a need to recognise that heat-related illnesses and deaths are not best addressed merely as an acute disaster but as public health and economic challenges that require planned responses. Responses that are sustainable and equitable combine long-term structural efforts at resilience building with emergency preparedness and prove to be most effective in averting the largely preventable deaths, morbidities, and economic shocks arising from heat-related health risks among exposed and vulnerable communities. Joint action on climate and health enhances achievement of multiple developmental goals with multistakeholder participation. Diverse sectors, including medical care, surveillance, risk communication, disaster preparedness, livelihoods and jobs, and adaptation and urban planning, are needed to raise public awareness and engagement, induce behavioural change, and focus resources for the much-needed structural changes in urban planning and health systems that can save lives and avert damages. To reduce heat-related health risks, vulnerability, inequity, and climate action in the Indian context must be urgently addressed.
期刊介绍:
The Lancet Planetary Health is a gold Open Access journal dedicated to investigating and addressing the multifaceted determinants of healthy human civilizations and their impact on natural systems. Positioned as a key player in sustainable development, the journal covers a broad, interdisciplinary scope, encompassing areas such as poverty, nutrition, gender equity, water and sanitation, energy, economic growth, industrialization, inequality, urbanization, human consumption and production, climate change, ocean health, land use, peace, and justice.
With a commitment to publishing high-quality research, comment, and correspondence, it aims to be the leading journal for sustainable development in the face of unprecedented dangers and threats.