Chhattisgarh is a state located in central-east India with a population of 32.2 million as of 2020. During summers, temperatures in Chhattisgarh can rise up to 49°C (113°F). The state faces extreme health threats from climate change, especially due to erratic weather patterns and rainfall. One of the most significant threats to the health of the population is air pollution caused by mining and mineral-based industries and exacerbated by extreme heat.

Air pollution has been linked to a range of health effects such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Furthermore, air pollution adversely impacts food productivity. Traditional methods of food preservation such as sun-drying of vegetables have also become non-viable in coal mining and power plant areas due to coal dust and fly-ash pollution.

Since 2016, Chhattisgarh has been working on environmental health impact research and studies. The lessons from these studies were transformed into sensitization workshops, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Material, training modules for the Panchayati Raj Institute (PRI), and community mobilization for environmental monitoring.

Measures for identifying and combatting the threats of air pollution and climate change were identified with the communities through focus group discussions and training modules. Plans to implement these measures were prepared with a participatory approach with key stakeholders such as health professionals, Community Health Workers (Mitanins), and PRI members. Advocacy and communication on health for climate change and air pollution moved in a coordinated way with a three-dimensional approach.

Outcomes

IEC material was released by the Honorable Health Minister of Chhattisgarh, reflecting the content of the focus group discussions conducted with key stakeholders. The posters were distributed across all twenty-eight districts of Chhattisgarh.

The PRI training module was prepared, and more than two thousand PRI members were trained, covering around 144 blocks out of 146 blocks in all twenty-eight districts.

Area Coordinators are being trained for manual air sampling from Raipur and Korba, Chhattisgarh, for building capacities for healthcare workers.

A low-cost air quality monitor has been installed at the UNICEF Office Raipur since January 2019 for real-time air quality monitoring.

Impacts

Health professionals demand training on climate change and air pollution. They seek more guidance on documenting/diagnosing and treating diseases related to climate change and air pollution.

Communities have become more vigilant in raising concerns and taking small measures to reduce emissions at the domestic level, co-benefiting health and climate mitigation measures. For instance, choosing smokeless Chulas, burning single incense in temple/home instead of burning the whole packet, not burning waste outside homes but disposing of it properly, and Panchayats promising to serve food in leaf plates instead of using plastic plates and glasses at his daughter’s wedding. They have also started to understand the over-utilization of fertilizers for agriculture and raised concerns to plan organic manures. Panchayats have taken oaths to ban the use of plastics.

Through the process, it was determined that extending the work with the Department of Urban Development and Disaster Management is necessary, and the work is ongoing.

The key lessons come from the communities who are conveying the measured change in climate in their understanding of nature, weather, and climate and offering solutions to lead studies and make appropriate interventions. Community participation and mobilization for policy advocacy is one of the main learnings.

Future Interventions

It is essential to capture quantitative data that indicates and relates to climate change and its impacts in coordination with IDSP and the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board.