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The Hindu
31-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Study finds climate change could worsen risk of diarrhoea among children in south, southeast Asia
Climate change could worsen the risk of diarrhoea -- a leading cause of death among children aged under five -- across south and southeast Asia, including India, endangering the health of millions of children, according to a study. Researchers from Australia, including those from Flinders University, analysed data of more than three million children, taken from national surveys of eight Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Prevalence of diarrhoea was found to be about 8 per cent among India's under-fives. The disease is marked by passing loose, watery stools occurring more often than normal. Dehydration, malnutrition and an impaired immunity are among its risk factors. Study findings The findings, published in the journal Environmental Research, also highlight temperature extremes and declining rainfall (in a year's wettest month) as the two main climate-associated factors driving a higher risk of diarrhoea among children. A wider range of yearly temperatures -- 30 to 40 degrees Celsius -- was related with a 39 per cent increase in chances of diarrhoea among children, while less-than-usual rainfall in the wettest month (under 600 millimetres) increased the risk by about 30 per cent. Further, children of mothers with less than eight years of schooling were found to face an 18 per cent higher risk of diarrhoea, lead researcher Syeda Hira Fatima from Flinders University said. "This makes investing in maternal education one of the most powerful and scalable climate-adaptation strategies -- not only to improve child health, but also to address broader challenges like overcrowding and poor hygiene," Fatima said. "Education empowers mothers to act early when their children fall ill, which can save lives," the lead researcher said and added that its role in climate-health policies is central, especially in the world's densely populated, high-risk regions. Citing previous research, co-author Corey Bradshaw, professor of global ecology at Flinders University, said 88 per cent of deaths due to diarrhoea are linked to unhygienic conditions, including unsafe drinking water. "Improved access to drinking water can reduce the risk of diarrhoea by 52 per cent, while better sanitation facilities can lower the risk by 24 per cent," Bradshaw said. The author added that poverty is known to increase diarrhoea risk by limiting access to nutrition, clean water and healthcare, while also fostering environments where diarrhoeal pathogens thrive. "With our recent research also showing that droughts in East Asia will intensify based on 1,50,000 years of monsoon records, this new study now warns that the intensified impacts of climate change will lead to increased child diarrhoea and all the associated health impacts in Asia," Bradshaw said. The authors wrote, "Higher annual temperature range (30-40 degrees Celsius) was associated with a (nearly) 39 per cent increase in diarrhoea probability, while lower precipitation in the wettest month (under 600 millimetres) increased risk by (nearly) 29 per cent, highlighting the role of drier conditions." "We found that maternal education (under) eight years increased diarrhoea probability by (nearly) 18 per cent, and household sizes exceeding six members increased it by (nearly) nine per cent," they wrote.
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Study finds climate change could worsen risk of diarrhoea among children in south, southeast Asia
New Delhi: Climate change could worsen the risk of diarrhoea -- a leading cause of death among children aged under five -- across south and southeast Asia, including India, endangering the health of millions of children, according to a study. Researchers from Australia, including those from Flinders University, analysed data of more than three million children, taken from national surveys of eight Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Prevalence of diarrhoea was found to be about 8 per cent among India's under-fives. The disease is marked by passing loose, watery stools occurring more often than normal. Dehydration, malnutrition and an impaired immunity are among its risk factors. The findings, published in the journal Environmental Research, also highlight temperature extremes and declining rainfall (in a year's wettest month) as the two main climate-associated factors driving a higher risk of diarrhoea among children. A wider range of yearly temperatures -- 30 to 40 degrees Celsius -- was related with a 39 per cent increase in chances of diarrhoea among children, while less-than-usual rainfall in the wettest month (under 600 millimetres) increased the risk by about 30 per cent. Further, children of mothers with less than eight years of schooling were found to face an 18 per cent higher risk of diarrhoea, lead researcher Syeda Hira Fatima from Flinders University said. "This makes investing in maternal education one of the most powerful and scalable climate-adaptation strategies -- not only to improve child health , but also to address broader challenges like overcrowding and poor hygiene," Fatima said. "Education empowers mothers to act early when their children fall ill, which can save lives," the lead researcher said and added that its role in climate-health policies is central, especially in the world's densely populated, high-risk regions. Citing previous research, co-author Corey Bradshaw, professor of global ecology at Flinders University, said 88 per cent of deaths due to diarrhoea are linked to unhygienic conditions, including unsafe drinking water. "Improved access to drinking water can reduce the risk of diarrhoea by 52 per cent, while better sanitation facilities can lower the risk by 24 per cent," Bradshaw said. The author added that poverty is known to increase diarrhoea risk by limiting access to nutrition, clean water and healthcare, while also fostering environments where diarrhoeal pathogens thrive. "With our recent research also showing that droughts in East Asia will intensify based on 1,50,000 years of monsoon records, this new study now warns that the intensified impacts of climate change will lead to increased child diarrhoea and all the associated health impacts in Asia," Bradshaw said. The authors wrote, "Higher annual temperature range (30-40 degrees Celsius) was associated with a (nearly) 39 per cent increase in diarrhoea probability, while lower precipitation in the wettest month (under 600 millimetres) increased risk by (nearly) 29 per cent, highlighting the role of drier conditions." "We found that maternal education (under) eight years increased diarrhoea probability by (nearly) 18 per cent, and household sizes exceeding six members increased it by (nearly) nine per cent," they wrote. PTI
Hans India
31-07-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Climate change could worsen risk of diarrhoea among children
New Delhi: Climate change could worsen the risk of diarrhoea -- a leading cause of death among children aged under five -- across south and southeast Asia, including India, endangering the health of millions of children, according to a study. Researchers from Australia, including those from Flinders University, analysed data of more than three million children, taken from national surveys of eight Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Prevalence of diarrhoea was found to be about 8 per cent among India's under-fives. The disease is marked by passing loose, watery stools occurring more often than normal. Dehydration, malnutrition and an impaired immunity are among its risk factors. The findings, published in the journal Environmental Research, also highlight temperature extremes and declining rainfall (in a year's wettest month) as the two main climate-associated factors driving a higher risk of diarrhoea among children. A wider range of yearly temperatures -- 30 to 40 degrees Celsius -- was related with a 39 per cent increase in chances of diarrhoea among children, while less-than-usual rainfall in the wettest month (under 600 millimetres) increased the risk by about 30 per cent. Further, children of mothers with less than eight years of schooling were found to face an 18 per cent higher risk of diarrhoea, lead researcher Syeda Hira Fatima from Flinders University said. 'This makes investing in maternal education one of the most powerful and scalable climate-adaptation strategies -- not only to improve child health, but also to address broader challenges like overcrowding and poor hygiene,' Fatima said. 'Education empowers mothers to act early when their children fall ill, which can save lives,' the lead researcher said and added that its role in climate-health policies is central, especially in the world's densely populated, high-risk regions. Citing previous research, co-author Corey Bradshaw, professor of global ecology at Flinders University, said 88 per cent of deaths due to diarrhoea are linked to unhygienic conditions, including unsafe drinking water. 'Improved access to drinking water can reduce the risk of diarrhoea by 52 per cent, while better sanitation facilities can lower the risk by 24 per cent,' Bradshaw said.
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Using the Ocean to Suck Up CO2 Could Come With the Small, Unintended Side Effect of Wiping Out Marine Life
As global temperatures soar and emissions remain higher than ever, scientists are exploring the dramatic, planet-wide interventions we could take to stave off the climate crisis. One of the most intriguing possibilities involves using the ocean, already the world's largest carbon sink, to suck up even more of the greenhouse gas by removing some of the carbon that it already stores. Dozens of startups are already experimenting with this form of climate intervention, which is sometimes referred to as marine carbon dioxide removal. What makes it so appealing is that the ocean, in theory, would essentially do the work for us: all we'd have to do is set it into motion and store — or even repurpose — the extracted gases so they doesn't reenter the atmosphere. But it may be too good to be true. In a new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, a team of international researchers warn that this could have dire unintended consequences — like accelerating the decline of the ocean's already plunging oxygen levels. "What helps the climate is not automatically good for the ocean," lead author Andreas Oschlies, from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany, said in a statement about the work. The warmer that water becomes, the less oxygen it can dissolve. In the past fifty years, as global temperatures steadily climbed, the ocean has lost nearly 2 percent of its total dissolved oxygen, a proportion roughly equal to a staggering 77 billion metric tons, according to a 2018 study. At its worst, this phenomenon, known as ocean deoxygenation, creates entire "dead zones" where there's so little oxygen available that the waters become virtually uninhabitable. Sometimes stretching across thousands of square miles, whatever marine life was once living in the afflicted area either flees or, more grimly, suffocates to death. Climate change has accelerated the eerie aquatic trend, increasing both the size and number of these dead zones. Clearly, halting global warming would help stymy this — but not if the solution we employ requires putting additional strain on the ocean. In particular, it appears that biotic forms of marine carbon removal could precipitate devastating losses of dissolved oxygen, the researchers caution. One leading method, called ocean fertilization, proposes seeding the seas with nutrients to boost the growth of oxygen-producing algae. The problem is that when the phytoplanktons perish, their tiny corpses sink to the ocean floor, where the bacteria that feed on them end up consuming even more oxygen. "Methods that increase biomass production in the ocean, and subsequently lead to oxygen-consuming decomposition, cannot be considered harmless climate solutions," Oschlies said in the statement. "Our model simulations show that such approaches could cause a decrease in dissolved oxygen that is 4 to 40 times greater than the oxygen gain expected from reduced global warming." But the researchers aren't advocating against using the ocean as a carbon sink entirely. Encouragingly, they found that abiotic methods, including one that involves flushing the waters with minerals like limestone to convert CO2 into a molecule that stays trapped underwater, has minimal effects on oxygen levels. Instead, the researchers want to stress that going forward, anyone pursuing this research should put assessing the potential oxygen toll of their technique front and center. "The ocean is a complex system which is already heavily under pressure," Oschlies said. "If we intervene with large-scale measures, we must ensure that, no matter how good our intentions are, we are not further threatening marine environmental conditions that marine life depends on." More on the ocean: A Strange Darkness Is Spreading Throughout the Oceans
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists make disturbing discovery in analysis of human bodily fluids: 'Further research is required'
A new study published in Environmental Research identified microplastics in various body fluids among people suffering from respiratory illnesses. An Iran-based research team collected urine, mucus, and lung lavage fluid samples from 30 participants who suffered from respiratory illnesses. They found a total of 490 microplastics in the samples, representing an array of colors, sizes, and plastic types. These tiny plastic particles were most abundant in the mucus; all 30 patients had microplastics in those samples, and 358 total microplastics were found across all mucus samples. Meanwhile, only nine microplastics were detected in urine among eight of the patients. A total of 123 microplastics were identified in the lavage fluid samples, where a higher proportion of larger fibers were also discovered. The authors said their observations suggest that inhaled and ingested microplastics might be fractionated differently through the body. "Further research is required to determine why and how particles larger than theoretical limits are present in these fluids, along with their biopersistence and potential acute and chronic health impacts," they added. Microplastics break off from larger plastics, and they can be found all around us, from the air we breathe to the water we drink and the food we eat. One study found that nearly all tested protein samples, including chicken and tofu, contained microplastics. These tiny plastic particles have also infiltrated our bodies. One study found significant levels of microplastics in the penises of four out of five men undergoing erectile dysfunction–related surgery, while another discovered that a growing number of microplastics are appearing in our brains. Research examining the impacts of microplastic exposure is ongoing, but it has so far been tied to cancer, dementia, and impaired blood flow in the brain, among other health concerns. Removing microplastics from the environment is difficult but not impossible. One group of scientists discovered a way to filter them out of water using egg whites, and another team found a way to remove up to 99.9% of pollutants — including microplastics — from water in just 10 seconds. While microplastic removal science is promising, it's also important to prevent new particles from entering the environment, and that means reducing our reliance on plastic in our everyday lives. Countries such as England and France are trying to address the microplastic problem through bans on plastic cutlery for most fast food and takeout. California banned plastic produce bags from grocery stores, and India outlawed a selection of single-use plastics. Do you worry about having toxic forever chemicals in your home? Majorly Sometimes Not really I don't know enough about them Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
