Hypertension is the most prevalent chronic ailment in India. According to the National Health Profile (NHP) 2019 data, of all the patients who visited government clinics in 2018, 6.19% of the people were diagnosed with hypertension. It is higher than the people diagnosed with diabetes, the next prevalent chronic disease in India, which accounts for 4.75%. However, the numbers could be an underestimation, since the NHP does not assess people who visit the private clinics.
New research in Bengaluru reveals that unchecked urban growth, replacing natural landscapes with concrete, dramatically intensifies urban heat islands, underscoring the critical need for green spaces and water bodies to maintain livable temperatures.