BAKU – The World Health Organization and United Nations Climate Conference (COP29) host, Azerbaijan, issued a joint call to countries on Wednesday to adopt more  “healthy'” Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) in their next set of plans for climate action. The next NCDs are due to be submitted in early 2025.  But as carbon dioxide (CO2) […] Continue reading ->
As 40,000 delegates’ flights streamed into Baku’s Heydar Aliyev airport over the weekend, battle lines were drawn on the opening day of COP29 in the Azerbaijani capital as developing countries demanded wealthy nations commit trillions of dollars to combat the climate crisis. The high-stakes climate mega-conference launched on Monday, just weeks after its less prominent […] Continue reading ->
The 9th Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change shows that deaths from extreme heat, hunger, and disease, all are rising because of climate change. Authors call out governments and companies that continue “fuelling the fire” with continued investment in fossil fuels and subsidies, leading to all-time high energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, which are […] Continue reading ->
Fundamental policy changes aimed at fixing India’s seemingly intractable air pollution health crisis were suggested at the India Clean Air Summit (ICAS) held in Bengaluru recently.  Among the dozens of presentations by air quality scientists and officials, five key elements emerged for policy action that can speed up the reduction of air pollutants. These involve: […] Continue reading ->
NEW DELHI – On 2 November 2023, extreme air pollution caught Delhi off-guard. It shut down schools and led to flight cancellations, curbs on construction and other emergency responses.  That every little increase in air pollution increases the risk of death has been well-established for some years. But till now the effect of short-term air […] Continue reading ->
The fifth State of Global Air report shows air pollution is now the second-leading risk factor for death globally, after high blood pressure. Most of the deaths are from non-communicable diseases (NCD). The report has a silver lining about lives saved which shows how there’s been a large drop in the death rate of children […] Continue reading ->
A wave of record-setting heat waves, beginning in March, have led to new Government guidelines for emergency cooling including measures like heat stroke rooms. Even so, public health  experts are only beginning to grapple with the multiple ways in which heatwaves can kill – and map out mitigating measures for both healthy people as well […] Continue reading ->