Talking about the ‘’serious and damaging’’ effects of climate change on human health, WHO representative in India Salim Habayeb said, "The window of transmission for a disease like malaria would go up by nearly three months. Other vector-borne diseases would see a rise in northern region of the country." Speaking to to reporters on the occasion of World Health Day, WHO regional director Samlee Pilanbangchang said, "Air quality will suffer greatly and respiratory diseases will increase." "Heat waves will be more intense and of longer duration, mainly affecting the most vulnerable populations in children and elderly through heat strokes and cardiovascular complications," he said, adding that six health outcomes are likely to be affected by climate change in the region.

Stating that the most vulnerable in the region will be the poor, the WHO warned that while in Bangladesh, production of rice and wheat might drop by 8 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively, by the year 2050, for India, recent studies predict a 2-5 per cent decrease in yield potential of wheat and maize for a temperature rise of 0.5 to 1.5°C. "The net cereal production in South-East Asian countries is projected to decline by at least 4 to 10 per cent by the end of this century under the most conservative climate change scenario," it said.

Warning governments against taking the threat of climate change lightly, chairperson of the Inter-Governmental Panel for climate change R.K. Pachauri said in a message, "though as of now there is no evidence to link the changing disease patterns to climate change, if we wait for evidence before taking any action, it might be too late".