The Unintended (and seemingly unrelated) Effects of Climate Change

India’s coastlines extend a distance of 7,500 kilometers and are contiguous with 8 states, including Orissa, West Bengal, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, and Maharashtra. In 2 recent posts entitled, “Predicting a Shift: Climate Migrants” and “Mumbai in 2100: Underwater“, we spoke to the displacement risk faced by coastal inhabitants as a result of rising water levels – predicted around 15 to 38 cm, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Well, it seems there are other, more unintended risks associated with climate change as well – pregnancy and childbirth. According to the IPCC, rising sea levels will create a “severe problem of potable water,” and as a result, people will be forced to drink salty water. Pregnant women and their unborn children, in particular, will suffer from this change:

“The extra intake of salt through drinking water will lead to high blood pressure mainly during the last three-four months (of pregnancy). It has the potential to make deliveries difficult. Salt is associated with heart problems as well and the sea water exposure may affect the normal life cycle of an unborn baby. The baby may develop complications after birth.”

According to Anthony J. McMichael of the Australian National University, India needs to “develop research capacity to tackle the climate change issue.” In fact,

“Environmental changes will cast an increasingly long shadow over future population health unless we effectively communicate these health risks and help society shape a sustainable way of living.”

Source: Sify News