NEW DELHI - A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) says climate change is adversely affecting the health of millions of people across the world, leading to the death of thousands, and fueling diseases like diarrhea and malaria.

The study released in Milan in Italy last week, estimates that in 2000, 150,000 deaths were caused because of climate change. It says climate change is responsible for 2.4 per cent of all cases of diarrhea worldwide and for 2 per cent of all malaria cases in the world.

"There is growing evidence that changes in the global climate will have profound effects on the health and well-being of citizens in countries throughout the world," says Kerstin Leitner, WHO assistant director-general for sustainable development and healthy environments.

"We must better understand the potential health effects particularly for those who are most vulnerable, so that we can better manage the risks," says Leitner.

The report -- released at the ninth session of the Conference of the Parties to The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Milan -- examines the linkage between climatic changes -- such as droughts, heavy rainfalls and extreme weather conditions -- and the occurrence of infectious diseases.

Rainfall, says the study -- 'Climate Change and Human Health: Risks and Responses' -- can influence the spread of diseases, while temperature affects the growth and survival of an infectious agent.

The effect of climate change on the incidence of malaria in India has also been documented by scientists working on the issue in the south Asian nation. It is feared that in the coming years, because of climatic changes, malaria will spread to many parts of India where it is not yet prevalent.

"Our studies indicate that malaria will be prevalent through the year in 10 percent more states in India, including the southern states and Jammu and Kashmir in the north," says Sumana Bhattacharya, expert consultant at the New Delhi-based NATCOM -- or India's Initial National Communication -- a nongovernmental organization (NGO) set up by the Indian ministry of Environment and Forests.

The WHO study emphasizes that the link between malaria and extreme climatic events has for long been studied in India. "Early last century, the river-irrigated Punjab region experienced periodic malaria epidemics," says the report.

"Excessive monsoon rainfall and high humidity was identified early on as a major influence, enhancing mosquito breeding and survival. Recent analyses have shown that the malaria epidemic risk increases around five-fold in the year after an El Nino event," it says.

According to the study -- authored by WHO in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Meteorological Organization and the United States Environmental Protection Agency -- even small temperature changes can increase the prevalence of malaria.

"Globally, temperature increases of 2-3 degrees celsius would increase the number of people who, in climatic terms, are at risk of malaria by around 3-5 percent, that is several hundred million," it says. The duration of malaria would also increase in areas where it is now endemic, the report says.

Bhattacharya, one of the five editors of the Book "Climate Change in India: Vulnerability, Assessment and Adaptation, stresses that scientists are concerned that climate change can lead to an increase in temperature-related infections or diseases, cardiovascular illnesses or vector-borne diseases such as malaria, filaria, dengue or kala-azar.

"Health is affected by extreme weather -- such as cyclones, drought or heavy rain," she says.

Food security is another issue that is negatively impacted by climate change. "Fall in food production can lead to hunger and malnutrition," points out Bhattacharya.

The report urges governments to focus more on sustainability -- maintaining that development does not adversely affect the Earth's ecological and other systems. "If these systems decline, human population well-being and health will be jeopardized," it says.

"Technology can buy time, but nature's bottom-line accounting cannot be evaded. We must live within Earth's limits," it warns.

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