1. “Rising temperatures and climate change can cause future pandemics,” warns a Lancet 2020 report.
2. The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change released its fifth annual report on the relationship between public health and climate change, and unfortunately, India does not fare too well.
3. The annual report tracks 40+ indicators on links between health and climate change, and this year’s data reveals the most worrisome trends yet.
4. “Healthcare systems are ill-prepared as extreme heat leads to fast-rising mortality worldwide and threatens livelihoods of millions,” reads the report.
5. The report warns that COVID-19 may not be the last pandemic we see if we let climate change go unchecked.
6. A worrying finding for India is the effect of climate change on food security. The report found that “global food security is threatened by rising temperatures and increases in the frequency of extreme weather events.