Burden of disease and climate interactions: an illustrative study of Surat City, India
Climate change induced probable increases in temperatures and rainfall would arguably add to the aggregate malarial risk within the city. This paper attempts to develop an urban climate impact assessment model with a focus on public health. Using past data on disease cases, climate trajectories (temperature, precipitation) malarial risk is projected. This health risk is then monetized to help establish the burden of malaria to be faced by the city from an economic point of view. If viewed from a different angle, this estimated monetized value of health risk is also the disease burden that could be avoided due to possible health interventions (adaptation strategies). To compare against these, health intervention costs of a public programme undertaken by the government and households at a micro disease treatment level is undertaken as an illustrative example of how the costs of prevention may compare to the benefits of prevented disease to assess the economic benefits of adaptation.
