GK: Climate Change may reduce disease burden

Study by researchers based at IIT Delhi and University of California, Berkeley suggests that climate change could reduce levels of the highly toxic fine particulate matter of size smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) in the air above the Indian landmass.

As a result, premature deaths in India due to ailments such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory infection, which are linked to air pollution, are likely to go down.

A likely consequence of climate change over the Indian subcontinent over the next 80 years is an increase in the average rainfall the country receives, the researchers have said. Reduction in PM2.5 levels will follow the increased precipitation, because rain helps fine particulate matter to settle.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, projects that under certain climate change scenarios, the number of premature deaths due to air pollution could go down by as much as 12,000 per year.

The researchers, however, warn against interpreting the study as a solution to air pollution. 

A report published in The Lancet last year said India saw 2.51 million premature deaths in 2015 due to diseases linked to pollution. Air pollution-linked disease alone accounted for 1.8 million deaths.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/how-climate-change-can-lower-burden-of-disease-from-rising-air-pollution-in-india-5080774/