Nimhans discusses urban slums, foaming waterbodies

The discussion was held as part of World Health Day

Nimhans marked World Health Day on Thursday by discussing climate change under the theme of ‘Our Planet, Our Health’.

Dr S K Satheesh, Chair, Divecha Centre for Climate Change, and Professor, Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, was the chief guest at the event.

He said Divecha had been studying water pollution, air pollution and rising sea levels caused by the melting of glaciers. He spoke of forced migration due to unpredictable rain and drastic changes in the climate that has led to the displacement of crores of people.

“People are residing in urban slums, which will reduce their health and wellbeing,” he said.

Nimhans director Dr Prathima Murthy spoke about the impact of climate change globally due to oil spills in oceans and the depth of waterbodies, affecting human life.

“Locally, foaming lakes in Bengaluru and water depletion have become common. In the near future, water wars will become common. The city will face a grave water crisis. It is important to conserve water,” she said.

“At Nimhans, we have initiated rainwater harvesting. Sound pollution due to traffic has increased, which is also affecting mental health and well-being. Earlier, we used to have tabebuia flowers by March-end, which later turned yellow in April. Now, we have all flowers in full bloom at the same time. This is also a consequence of climate change,” she said.

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