The Future of Public Health in a Changing Climate: An Overview on South Asia

Climate change threatens public health across South Asia, hitting vulnerable communities the hardest. To address this issue regional governments and the World Health Organization (WHO) have undertaken several critical projects. MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and Web of Science databases were searched up to June 2025 to identify relevant articles. A gray literature search was also conducted using the Google Scholar platform. Countries like as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, and India are pioneering National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPAs) and health vulnerability assessments, focusing on three main areas: strengthening healthcare systems, fighting diseases spread by mosquitoes and other vectors, and improving water and sanitation infrastructure. While progress has been made, the region faces ongoing hurdles in managing long-term health risks from climate change. Looking ahead, it is critical that healthcare systems evolve to be more robust to the difficulties posed by climate change, while public health measures be smoothly incorporated into larger climate adaptation efforts. Success will depend on governments partnering and firmly incorporating climate change issues into their health programs. This review emphasizes the important need to expand adaption measures, boost community understanding about the complex relationships between climate and health, and improve monitoring of climate’s effects on human well-being.