Skip to main content

India's GDP loss to be 4.3% due to climate change by 2030, as days become hotter, labour productivity to go down

By Our Representative
A recent study has said that India may face a loss of gross domestic product (GDP) as a result of climate change to the tune of 4.3 per cent by the year 2030. This loss, it believes, would be essentially the result from the climate change making the “hottest days hotter”, affecting overall productivity.
Pointing out that in 2010, the GDP loss due to climate change was less than one per cent, the study says, India’s “estimated annual losses”, expressed as $US per person parity (PPP), were 55 billion in 2010, but they would reach up to 450 billion in 2030.
PPPs are the rates of currency conversion that equalise the purchasing power of different currencies by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries. In their simplest form, PPPs show the ratio of prices in national currencies of the same good or service in different countries.
Pointing out that these are “tentative estimates”, the study, published in the “Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health”, a Sage publication, adds, “But they indicate the importance of further analysis of this climate impact in many countries struggling to reduce poverty and improve socioeconomic conditions.”
Titled “Impact of Climate Conditions on Occupational Health and Related Economic Losses: A New Feature of Global and Urban Health in the Context of Climate Change” and authored by Tord Kjellstrom, and M Meng, the study, analyzing impact of climate change in a large number of countries, says, “The impact on hourly labor productivity due to the increasing need for rest is likely to become a significant problem for many countries and communities.”
Suggesting that India, along with China is one of the worst affected economies because of climate change, the study says, “The local populations are clearly ‘behaviorally adapted’ to these heat levels, and the stories of how outdoor workers cope indicate, for instance, that construction workers in India rest during the whole afternoons in the hot seasons.” 
It adds, “As climate change slowly makes the hottest days hotter, and there will be longer periods of excessively hot days, and there will be longer periods of excessively hot days, the impact on hourly labor productivity due to the increasing need for rest is likely to become a significant problem for many countries and communities.”
The study further says, “In the two hottest seasons, large parts of India are so hot that afternoon work becomes almost impossible”, with “local populations clearly ‘behaviorally adapted’ to these heat levels, and the stories of how outdoor workers cope indicate, that construction workers in India rest during the whole afternoons in the hot seasons.”
In order to make maps of the heat situation in different parts of the world, the study collected data in 60 000 grid cells (0.5° × 0.5°) from CRU (Climate Research Unit at University of East Anglia, UK), in order to calculate WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature), a common heat exposure index that combines temperature, humidity, wind speed, and heat radiation into one value for different months and years.
While working out “future model data were worked out”, the study says, “Heat maps for India were produced indicating what time percentage of typical daylight work hours can be maintained at different heat exposure levels, using the international standard as the basis for exposure–effect relationships.”
“The reduction of hourly active work time is expressed as ‘loss of work capacity due to heat’,” the study says, adding, “The data on current or future heat levels in workplaces can be assessed in terms of lost work capacity using exposure – response relationships from the few epidemiological studies available, or by using the recommended rest-to-work ratios in the international standard for workplace heat exposure.”

Comments

Unknown said…
I agree that you should plan to fail and be proactive with your excuses

TRENDING

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha*  The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza*  An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000. 

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas*  Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist  Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024. 

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco*  Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.