ESCAP also estimated that about half of population will live in cities and urban centres by this time, said US Consul-General Henry Jardine at a seminar on "Community-based Disaster Preparedness: the Pandemic threat".
Jardine, said that as per the other UN projections, India's population may stabilise at around 1.7 billion by 2060.
"Thus we are likely to face a scenario where nearly a billion people will live in small geographicfal areas. Kolkata already has a density of 24,760 people per square km. So any disaster striking Indian cities will have a massive human impact," Jardine said.
India already has at least four cities that have 10 million plus population.
In 1991, India had 23 cities with on million or more people. A decade later, the number is 35, he said.
Turning to disaster planning, the US Consul-general said a couple of key elements were required in this regard by mobilising the health care infrastructure of medical professionals, facilities and laboratories. - Source: DDNEWS India
