The impact of climate change on human health: a study with special reference to Colombo Ds Division

Abstract

Climate change can be referred to as a great issue faced by human in the contemporary world. It is also a key concept of the 21st century. Climate is the long – term average of weather, for a long period of time in a particular area. Today this climate is being altered by natural and human factors and the effect of this climate change on human health has caused many discomforts all over the world. As a result of climate change Sri Lanka is also facing many challenges. The climate change in the Colombo divisional secretariat which is most densely populated area is a major challenge to human health. The objectives of this study are to propose the impact climate change on human health and identifying the driving factors of climate change which cause impact on human health. The research was done based on qualitative and quantitative data. Both primary and secondary data was collected in order to achieve the object of the research. Primary data was collected through Observation, Quizzes and Interviews, and secondary data was obtained through the Divisional Secretariat Report, Meteorological department report, Disaster Management Center Report, Regional Health Officer’s Office Report, Journal, Magazine, Books, Research Article, Internet Sources and Survey Area Maps. Collected data were analyzed using Ms Excel and illustrated with Charts and Tables. According to result and discussion of this research the people in the study area are confirmed with various health impacts such as seasonal diseases during the climate change such as increased rainfall and sudden changes in summer or winter. The finding of this research reveals that the native people are influenced by the impact of climate change and the impacts can be observed through direct and indirect effects. To mitigate these impacts people should be provided clarity about climate change to exposed the health risk in the study area and government and non – government organizations should support with cooperation of public to mitigate the impacts