Water-Related Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture and Subsequently on Public Health: A Review for Generalists with Particular Reference to Pakistan

Abstract

Water-related impacts due to change in climatic conditions ranging from water scarcity to intense floods and storms are increasing in developing countries like Pakistan. Water quality and waterborne diseases like hepatitis, cholera, typhoid, malaria and dengue fever are increasing due to chaotic urbanization, industrialization, poor hygienic conditions, and inappropriate water management. The morbidity rate is high due to lack of health care facilities, especially in developing countries. Organizations linked to the Government of Pakistan (e.g., Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Climate Change, Planning and Development, Ministry of Forest, Irrigation and Public Health, Pakistan Meteorological Department, National Disaster Management, Pakistan Agricultural Research Centre, Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources, and Global Change Impact Study Centre), United Nation organizations, provincial government departments, non-governmental organizations (e.g., Global Facility and Disaster Reduction), research centers linked to universities, and international organizations (International Institute for Sustainable Development, Food and Agriculture, Global Climate Fund and World Bank) are trying to reduce the water-related impacts of climate change, but due to lack of public awareness and health care infrastructure, the death rate is steadily increasing. This paper critically reviews the scientific studies and reports both at national and at international level benefiting generalists concerned with environmental and public health challenges. The article underlines the urgent need for water conservation, risk management, and the development of mitigation measures to cope with the water-related impacts of climate change on agriculture and subsequently on public health. Novel solutions and bioremediation methods have been presented to control environmental pollution and to promote awareness among the scientific community. The focus is on diverse strategies to handle the forthcoming challenges associated with water resources management.

Climate Change–Related Water Disasters’ Impact on Population Health

“…Increases in water temperature, precipitation frequency and severity, evaporation–transpiration rates, persistent humidity, and changes in coastal ecosystems increase the incidence of water contamination with harmful pathogens and chemicals, resulting in increased human exposure and waterborne disease (Ahmed, Scholz, Al‐Faraj, & Niaz, ; Alderman, Turner, & Tong, ; Davies et al., ; De Man et al., ; Dura et al., ; Gao, Zhang, Ding, Liu, & Jiang, ; Kang et al., ; Lin, Wade, & Hilborn, ; Phung et al., ; Wade, Lin, Jagai, & Hilborn, ). Flooding events in particular increased the incidence of the following three diseases: hepatitis A virus (Gao, Zhang, Ding, Liu, & Jiang, , Gao, Zhang, Ding, Liu, Wang, & Jiang, ), bacillary dysentery (Liu, Liu, Zhang, & Jiang, ; Liu, Li, et al., ; Lin, Wade, & Hilborn, ; Ni, Ding, Li, Li, & Jiang, ; Ni, Ding, Li, Li, Liu, & Jiang, ; Zhang, Ding, Liu, Zhang, & Jiang, ), and Campylobacter (Soneja et al., ).…”

“…Disease risk increases as a result of climate change due to related expansions in vector numbers and ranges, shortening of pathogen incubation periods, and disruption and relocation of large human populations (Portier et al., ). Vector‐borne diseases include dengue, dengue hemorrhagic fever, yellow fever, West Nile virus (Ahmed et al., ; Alderman et al., ; Burton, Rabito, Danielson, & Takaro, ; Phung et al., ), Japanese encephalitis (Zhang, Liu, Zhang, & Jiang, ), Ross River virus (Tall, Gatton, & Tong, ), and malaria (Alderman et al., ; Boyce et al., ; Ding et al., ; Gao, Zhang, Ding, Liu, Wang, & Jiang, ).…”

Water pollution and human health.

“…Pollutants disturb the food chain [17] and heavy metals, especially iron affects the respiratory system of fishes. An iron clog in to fish gills and it is lethal to fishes, when these fishes are eaten by human leads to the major health issue [24]. Metal contaminated water leads to hair loss, liver cirrhosis, renal failure [25] and neural disorder [26].…”

Effect of climate change on the occurrence of selected infectious diseases

“…Na przykład w Indiach stwierdzono związek pomiędzy ekstremalnymi opadami atmosferycznymi a hospitalizacją związaną z chorobami przewodu pokarmowego. Z kolei susze mogą z jednej strony zmniejszać dostępność bezpiecznej wody pitnej, z drugiej zaś, gdy dostępność wody jest niższa, słaba higiena może prowadzić do zwiększonej zachorowalności na choroby przewodu pokarmowego [22,24,25] Średnie dobowe opady wykazywały interakcje z częstością występowania posocznicy wywołanej przez Vibrio vulnificus (Vibrio vulnificus septicemia -VVS) i szigelozę w Korei Południowej [26].…”

“…Azja Południowa i Wschodnia, Afryka, Ameryka Środkowa i Południowa to kontynenty, gdzie dur brzuszny występuje endemicznie, a zapadalność na tę chorobę na endemicznych terenach wynosi od 227 do 810 na 100 000 mieszkańców. Katastrofy naturalne i klęski żywiołowe związane ze zmianami klimatycznymi (powodzie, huragany) oraz lokalne konflikty zbrojne w znaczący sposób zwiększają ryzyko wystąpienia duru brzusznego w formie epidemii [25,26,27].…”