South Asia climate health desk, research consortium to address extreme heat

Two new initiatives to protect South Asians from extreme heat a rapidly escalating threat to human health and economic stability in the subcontinent were launched on Friday during Mumbai Climate Week officials saidThe South Asia ClimateHealth Desk established as part of the WHOWMO Climate and Health Joint Programme and implemented with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology IITM India Meteorological Department IMD and other partners will improve how climate and weather information is translated into action to protect peoples healthComplementing this work the South Asia Scientific Research Consortium supported through a Rockefeller Foundation grant to the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research IISERPune will deepen the regions scientific understanding of how heat affects different populationsFew regions feel the impacts of extreme heat as sharply as South Asia and I welcome the clear determination to respond We all know that every death primarily due to excess heat can be prevented and heat health action plans are saving livesBy uniting science government leadership and support and community action countries here are proving that this challenge can be met WMO SecretaryGeneral Celeste Saulo saidAccording to WMO Asia is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average intensifying extreme weather and placing growing pressure on lives and livelihoods health systems economies and ecosystems across the region putting the most vulnerable and exposed communities at critical riskExtreme heat is a growing risk for lives and livelihoods in South Asia said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra IMDs director General of Meteorology and Permanent Representative of India to WMOIMD welcomes this partnership with IITM under the South Asia ClimateHealth Desk which will strengthen the sciencetoservices pathway improve early warning support for health and help decisionmakers act in time to protect communities during severe heat events he addedLed by IITM in partnership with IMD the desk will help meteorological institutions and health partners in South Asia work together to develop more robust decision support tools such as early warning and risk assessmentsAfter a decade of punishing and increasingly deadly heatwaves across India and the wider South Asia region it is clear that business as usual public health approaches are no longer enough Naveen Rao Senior Vice President of Health at The Rockefeller Foundation saidHe added Protecting Indias most vulnerable communities requires rethinking how we deliver care and invest in the solutions frontline providers and patients urgently need todayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever