Abstract

Climate change is one of the biggest imminent threats the world faces in the current century. There is a growing risk of emerging diseases secondary to climate change and the magnitude of this risk is likely underestimated. The current review aims to summarize the mechanisms of climate change impact on infectious diseases, and interventions to manage this growing problem in India. Climate change disrupts ecosystems and impacts disease transmission through several distinct pathways, each influenced by environmental shifts. Extreme weather acts as a catalyst by increasing the spread of climate sensitive infectious disease. There have been several disease outbreaks in India linked directly to climate-related events, highlighting the critical connection between environmental changes and public health. Addressing climate change induced infectious disease calls for multipronged and interdisciplinary action to safeguard human and animal health, strengthen disaster resilience and advance climate action. The complex interplay of environment, human health and animal health in the pathogenesis of this problem requires a One Health approach to balance the health of human and animal populations and ecosystems. Climate-informed disease surveillance and early warning systems, strengthening health systems to become more climate-resilient, hazard awareness generation and risk communication, infrastructure planning to minimize climate driven displacement, animal surveillance and cross sectoral antimicrobial resistance surveillance, conservation of wildlife habitats and ecosystems, water, sanitation and hygiene services resilient to climate change, resettlement of populations at-risk of climate induced disasters and climate change mitigation actions can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals for human health and climate action.

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