The Impact of Climate Change on Waterborne Diseases in Pakistan

Climate change has become a potential threat to human health in the past half century. The risk associated with waterborne diseases due to changes in climatic patterns is increasing all over the world. This article reviews the available literature on the increase and potential impact of waterborne diseases on human health, particularly those resulting from changes in climate patterns in Pakistan. The discussion focuses on the increased exposure to pathogens associated mainly with temperature rise and floods resulting from intense rainfall events. Developing countries, including Pakistan, are more vulnerable to threats of climatic changes, which add to waterborne disease risks due to poor sanitation and sewerage systems, inappropriate water management, lack of health-care facilities, and social and environmental factors. Among bacterial pathogens, E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Cryptosporidium, and Campylobacter are the main causative agents of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, hepatitis, cholera, typhoid, malaria, salmonellosis, dysentery, schistosomiasis, and giardiasis, all of which are becoming more frequent. In addition to disease outbreaks, climate changes are expected to increase the challenges of water availability and exposure to unsafe water. Future projections of climate based on current rates of change predict increased variations in rainfall patterns and melting glaciers, which will lead to an exponential increase in pathogen concentration in water bodies. As disease outbreaks become more frequent, the impact on health is clear. This article proposes actions to reduce future health threats from outbreaks of waterborne diseases through the development of mitigation and adaptation measures put into national water policy, including infrastructure development that assures potable water quality control, improved medical intervention, and the development of process-based models for risk management.