Surat to house first centre on climate change indicators

Times of India , Friday, January 11, 2013
Correspondent : By Himansshu Bhatt, TNN
SURAT: Proper understanding of climate change indicators can help in taking preventive measures on outbreak of disease and improve urban health scenario. With an aim to co-relate climate change and health of urban residents, Surat Climate Change Trust has decided to set up an urban health climate resilience centre. It will be the first centre of its kind in the country.

Since there is no definite documentation of effects of climate change on humans, the centre will document and derive conclusions on how to protect humans from these changes.

"If we get to know the changes taking place in climate, we will be able to make early forecast and prevent epidemics," said Vikas Desai, founder secretary of urban health society of India.

Sources said that besides changes in temperatures and humidity, climate change is also resulting in disasters. For example in case of an outbreak of diseases, survival and efficiency to transmit disease by the vectors and bacteria depends on temperature, humidity and amount of water logging. The centre will try and establish the co-relation to forecast the outbreak in time.

"Early detection and timely management will result in better human health. If our urban health services are strong we can be climate resilient. For this, we will monitor health indicators against climate and climatic changes," said Desai who is entrusted with the job of setting up a core team of half a dozen experts that will come up with a model in three years. Desai has worked on urban health parameters in the past.

Jatin Shah, chairman of the trust and city engineer of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), said, "In the coming trust meeting, space will be allocated for the centre and other related issues will be sorted out." Rockefeller Foundation has given an initial financial aid of Rs 2 crore to the trust to work on issues of climate change.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Surat-to-house-first-centre-on-climate-change-indicators/articleshow/17973655.cms
 


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