UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Climate change as a public health emergency
Q1. Which of the following was the first event to be declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) after the International Health Regulations were revised in 2005?
- A. H1N1 influenza pandemic (2009)
- B. Poliomyelitis (2014)
- C. Ebola virus disease in West Africa (2014)
- D. COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
Q2. Under the International Health Regulations (2005), a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) can be formally declared only by which one of the following?
- A. The WHO Director-General
- B. The IHR Emergency Committee
- C. The World Health Assembly
- D. The United Nations Secretary-General
Q3. According to the WHO, the projection that climate change will cause approximately 2,50,000 additional deaths per year — from causes such as undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress — refers to which of the following periods?
- A. 2020 to 2030
- B. 2030 to 2050
- C. 2040 to 2060
- D. 2050 to 2070
Q4. Consider the following statements distinguishing climate-sensitive diseases:
1. Dengue is a vector-borne disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, whose breeding is highly sensitive to temperature and rainfall.
2. Leptospirosis is a waterborne bacterial disease whose transmission rises during monsoon flooding and waterlogging.
3. Malaria is a waterborne viral disease unrelated to any insect vector.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Dengue is a vector-borne disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, whose breeding is highly sensitive to temperature and rainfall.
- Leptospirosis is a waterborne bacterial disease whose transmission rises during monsoon flooding and waterlogging.
- Malaria is a waterborne viral disease unrelated to any insect vector.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q5. With reference to the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), 2008, consider the following:
1. National Solar Mission
2. National Water Mission
3. National Mission for a Green India
4. National Mission on Climate Change and Human Health
Which of the above are correctly identified as National Missions under the NAPCC?
- National Solar Mission
- National Water Mission
- National Mission for a Green India
- National Mission on Climate Change and Human Health
- A. 1, 2 and 3 only
- B. 1, 2 and 4 only
- C. 2, 3 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q6. Consider the following statements comparing the NPCCHH (2019) with the NAPCC (2008):
1. Unlike the eight missions of the NAPCC, which included no dedicated health mission, the NPCCHH is India's dedicated programme for the health impacts of climate change.
2. The NPCCHH is implemented under the National Health Mission, whereas the NAPCC is coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
3. The NPCCHH was launched earlier than the NAPCC.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Unlike the eight missions of the NAPCC, which included no dedicated health mission, the NPCCHH is India's dedicated programme for the health impacts of climate change.
- The NPCCHH is implemented under the National Health Mission, whereas the NAPCC is coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- The NPCCHH was launched earlier than the NAPCC.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q7. The National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH), India's dedicated health-sector response to climate change under the National Health Mission, was launched in which year?
- A. 2008
- B. 2014
- C. 2019
- D. 2021
Q8. The Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health, launched by WHO/Europe in 2025 — which called on the WHO to formally declare climate change a Public Health Emergency of International Concern — is chaired by whom?
- A. Katrín Jakobsdóttir, former Prime Minister of Iceland
- B. Sir Andrew Haines
- C. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
- D. Gro Harlem Brundtland