4. Understanding Associations: Health, Socio-economic Wellbeing and Climate

Reducing risks from current and projected threats from climate change in a developing economy requires an in depth understanding of the associations between health status, climatic events and development. This is particularly important since up to mid Century, climate change is expected to act mainly by exacerbating health problems that already exist. Adaptation under these circumstances, especially for populations that do not have access to health care and public health services, is as much a question of responding to an amplification of existing threats to public health as of new strategies for managing new threats. To illustrate the point, an analysis of secondary data for one state in India is undertaken. The risk posed by climate events to mortality and economic losses, are statistically analysed. District level indices of health care provision and socio-economic status are constructed for 18 districts of the state over a period of 12 years from 2002–03 to 2013–14. The statistical associations between risk of mortality from climate events, health sector preparedness and socioeconomic wellbeing are subsequently highlighted.