Added on August 21, 2025  KV Network

Climate Change, Public Health, and Our Collective Responsibility

By: Dr. M U Muhammad

Very recently, Kishtwar and Kathua witnessed devastating cloudbursts and flash floods that swept away homes, farmlands, and lives. These tragedies are not isolated incidents but part of a disturbing pattern we in Kashmir have been observing in recent years—unrelenting rains, scorching heat, erratic snowfall, and climate extremes.

To recall, the 2014 Kashmir floods devastated Srinagar and its adjoining districts, displacing thousands and causing irreparable economic and social loss. Fast forward to 2025, Kashmir endured one of the most punishing heat waves in living memory, with temperatures soaring beyond normal ranges, straining both health systems and ecosystems. These events make one fact undeniable: climate change is no longer a distant theory debated in conferences; it is here, unfolding before our eyes in the Valley.

As a public health specialist, I recently had the privilege of attending the South and Southeast Asia Climate and Health Responder Course, offered by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, USA (May –July, 2025).

The program highlighted the urgent intersection between climate change and public health—an intersection that is increasingly relevant to the Kashmiri experience. The lessons I carried home are highly relevant to our Kashmiri context and deserve to be shared widely.

Climate Change in Kashmir: From Balance to Chaos

Kashmir’s unique geography—nestled within the Himalayas—makes it breathtakingly beautiful but acutely vulnerable. Climate change, accelerated by global warming and compounded by local environmental degradation, has upset the natural balance (Meezaan) of our region.

• Heat waves: Summers that once rarely crossed 30°C now frequently breach 35–37°C, putting vulnerable populations and crops at risk.
• Erratic Rainfall: Instead of steady monsoon showers, violent cloudbursts now trigger flash floods and landslides in a matter of minutes.
• Glacier Retreat: Glaciers in Sonamarg, Gulmarg, and Pahalgam—once steady water reservoirs—are shrinking at alarming rates. Their disappearance threatens long-term water security and raises the specter of sudden glacial lake outburst floods.
• Changing Winters: Chillai Kalan, once a predictable 40-day stretch of severe winter, is weakening. Snow arrives late, melts early, and disrupts both agriculture and the tourism economy.

What was once a climate of balance is tilting into chaos. And the consequences are not abstract—they shape our health, our livelihoods, and our very survival.

Climate Change as a Public Health Crisis

The Columbia University course underscored a sobering truth: climate change is the greatest health threat of the 21st century. In Kashmir, this threat is not hypothetical—it is already visible in multiple forms:

1. Heat-related illnesses: The elderly, children, and outdoor workers are increasingly vulnerable to dehydration, heat stroke, and cardiovascular strain as temperatures climb.
2. Water-borne diseases: Floodwaters frequently contaminate drinking sources, leading to spikes in diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis A. After every flood, doctors report an unmistakable surge in gastrointestinal infections.
3. Vector-borne and Zoonotic diseases: Warmer and wetter conditions create fertile breeding grounds for mosquitoes, expanding the risks of malaria, dengue, and Chikungunya to areas that were previously unaffected.
4. Mental health burden: Beyond physical illnesses, disasters like the 2014 floods and the recent Kishtwar cloudburst leave deep scars of trauma, anxiety, and depression, particularly among women and children already living in a conflict-weary society.
5. Nutrition and food insecurity: Erratic rains and flash floods regularly destroy paddy fields, apple orchards, and saffron crops, threatening food supplies and undermining livelihoods. The knock-on effect is rising malnutrition and poverty.

With healthcare systems in Kashmir already stretched thin, climate-driven health emergencies pose an unprecedented strain.

Deforestation and the Call for Afforestation

Environmental degradation has made matters worse. Rampant deforestation, particularly in ecologically sensitive zones like Kishtwar, erodes natural barriers that once softened the impact of floods and landslides. Forests act as sponges—absorbing rainwater, stabilizing soil, and regulating the flow of rivers and streams. When they are destroyed, entire communities are left exposed to nature’s fury.

Afforestation, therefore, is not merely about beautifying landscapes. It is about survival. Restoring forests strengthens ecological balance, reduces the intensity of disasters, and indirectly safeguards public health. What Kashmir urgently needs are community-led plantation drives, stricter enforcement of anti-logging laws, and incentives for sustainable forestry.

Lessons for Kashmir: Insights from Columbia University Course

The Climate and Health Responder Course provided frameworks that can be applied directly to our local reality:

1. Preparedness saves lives: Training doctors, nurses, and health workers to recognize and treat climate-linked illnesses—heat strokes, vector-borne diseases, flood-related injuries—can drastically reduce mortality.
2. Early warning systems: Predictive climate models and timely alerts enable communities to prepare for cloudbursts, floods, or landslides before disaster strikes.
3. Equity matters: Climate change does not impact everyone equally. Women fetching water, children living in flood-prone areas, the elderly with pre-existing health conditions and the poor living in fragile homes suffer disproportionately. Public health interventions must prioritize these groups.
4. Climate-resilient health systems: Hospitals and clinics should be designed with climate in mind—backup power during heatwaves, safe drinking water in flood seasons, and structural reinforcements against extreme weather.
5. Community engagement: Local resilience begins at the grassroots. Villages and towns must be empowered with education campaigns on safe sanitation, clean water practices, and heat protection measures.

Stewardship in Faith: An Islamic Perspective

Science and policy offer solutions, but faith gives us a moral compass. Islam provides profound guidance on how to care for the environment. The Qur’an repeatedly reminds us that Allah created the world in balance (Meezaan) and appointed humankind as Khalifa (stewards) of the Earth:

“And He has set up the balance, so that you may not transgress the balance. So establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance.” (Qur’an 55:7–9)

The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) taught against excess, warning even against wasting water while performing ablution beside a flowing river. Caring for the environment—planting trees, conserving water, protecting rivers—is not only good practice but also an act of worship.

He (ﷺ)said: “If a Muslim plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Seen through this lens, the tragedies in Kishtwar and Kathua are not merely “natural” disasters; they are reminders of what happens when humankind transgresses the balance. Our unchecked greed—overconsumption, pollution, and deforestation—has consequences. Faith calls us to return to stewardship, to restore the balance.

Building a Climate-Resilient Kashmir

The disasters of 2014, the heat wave of 2025, and the recent floods in Kishtwar and Kathua must not fade into memory as isolated tragedies. They are chapters of one unfolding story. A climate-resilient Kashmir demands:

• Stronger disaster preparedness systems.
• Climate-sensitive health infrastructure.
• Large-scale afforestation and watershed management.
• Integration of public health expertise into climate policies.
• Faith-based awareness campaigns to mobilize communities.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

The erratic rains, scorching heat, and sudden floods of recent years are not random—they are clear warnings. Climate change is already reshaping Kashmir in painful ways. Yet within every crisis lies an opportunity: to restore balance, to safeguard health, and to act as true stewards of this sacred valley.

The Qur’an reminds us: “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Qur’an 13:11)

The choice rests with us. Science highlights the risks, policy provides the tools, and faith supplies the ethical foundation. Together, these can guide us in building a healthier, safer, and more sustainable Kashmir—for ourselves and future generations.

(The author is Community Medicine Specialist at GMC Handwara and has successfully completed the South and Southeast Asia Climate and Health Responder Course (May–July 2025), offered by the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, USA)