10% hosps in India could shut by 2100 due to climate change

Dec 04,2023

 

MUMBAI: Climate change could force 10% of hospitals across India to relocate or shut down by 2100, according to a new global study released at the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai.

 

India would be one of the worst affected, along with Nepal where 26% of hospitals could close down, according to the 'XDI Global Hospital Infrastructure Physical Climate Risk Report'.

 

Roughly 2 lakh hospitals across the world, including 53,473 in India, were analysed for risk of damage from six climate change hazards (local floods, coastal inundation, among others) from 1990 until the end of the century.

 

Without phasing out fossil fuels by 2100, the report said that 1 in 12 hospitals worldwide -- or a total of 16,245 hospitals -- would be at a high risk of total or partial shutdown from extreme weather events; 71% (11,512) of these 16,245 hospitals at high risk are in low- and middle-income countries.

 

While some hospitals would require adaptation, many would need to relocate.

 

The study suggests the risk of damage to hospitals from extreme weather events has already increased by 41% since 1990 due to greenhouse gas emissions.

 

"Today in India 2,700 of the country's 53,473 hospitals are already at high risk of partial or complete shutdown from extreme weather events. If fossil fuels are not phased out, this will increase to more than 5,100 by the end of the century,'' the report added.

 

Climate change refers to long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns. Although the sun's activity or volcanic eruptions were considered to be the main reason for climate change, human activity has been the main driver for the last 200 years.

 

One of the leading causes is burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas; greenhouse gases thus emitted act like a blanket around the Earth, trapping the sun's heat and raising temperatures. Scientists have said that the Earth's surface is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was before the industrial revolution.

 

Hospitals are energy guzzlers as they operate 24x 7, 365 days a year. Unfortunately, Dr Vivek Desai of Hosmac, a hospital management consultancy firm, said that "environmental consciousness" isn't big among hospitals. Barely a dozen hospitals across the county would be truly green.

 

"The government of India has made it mandatory for public hospitals to have a GRIHA 3 rating but this is not mandatory for private hospitals,'' he said. GRIHA or Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment provides a standard for what constitutes a 'green building'.

 

Most private hospitals are not inclined to add green features because they are mindful of the capital cost. "If the government provides incentives such as a reduction in electricity or property tax bills, then hospitals may want to adopt green technologies,'' said Dr Desai.

 

Source: Healthworld