With global temperatures on the rise, experts are increasingly concerned that residents of crowded cities in South Asia may experience an uptick in heat-related health problems and suffer dire economic consequences.
A July 17, 2018 New York Times article looked at how the situation is playing out in New Delhi, India, noting that poorer residents are especially vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat. If global greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, such cities will become hotter and more humid, and lead to more health problems for residents, according to the article.
“These cities are going to become unlivable unless urban governments put in systems of dealing with this phenomenon and make people aware. It’s a major public health challenge,” said Sujata Saunik, a Takemi Fellow in the Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Read the New York Times article: In India, Summer Heat May Soon Be Literally Unbearable
Lean more
Changing Places: Are cities the key to climate solutions? (Harvard Public Health Magazine)