Climate Change-Inflicted Occupational Health Risk of Fisherfolk of Kerala, India

The intensity and frequency of climate change driven extreme weather events and natural hazards are on the rise often affecting human health directly and indirectly. According to the International Labor Organization, the fishing industry accounts for 7% of all laborer fatalities. This chapter mainly focuses on the fishing communities of Kerala with the objective of characterizing climate change driven occupational health risk as per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessed Report (AR5) and Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) framework. According to the IPCC AR5 and AR6, risk is a function of hazard, vulnerability, and exposure. We reviewed the literature and conducted interviews to synthesize information based on these frameworks in the context of the occupational health risks of Kerala fisherfolks. The study focuses on reviewing such impacts from repositories, literature and real-time interviews with the impacted communities. Subsequently, the chapter elaborates on the study’s findings and their relevance in resilience measures, policy changes, and other risk reduction measures. The study finds that climate change is evident in Kerala and is driving hazards, often affecting health directly and indirectly. The sociocultural aspects of fisherfolks add to the vulnerability thereby increasing the risk, while government schemes and initiatives act as an efficient mechanism to reduce the risks. Interaction with residents of Valiyathura points to the various health issues they face and their perception of changing climate. This chapter thus synthesizes the critical adversities and vulnerabilities the fisherfolks of Kerala encounter due to climate change driven occupational health hazards and the ways of navigating through the adversities.