📅 May 8, 2025, Post 5: The Gut and the Globe: How Climate Crisis Alters Our Inner Ecosystem | Mains Essay / Target IAS-26 MCQs Attached: A complete Package, Dear Aspirants!
The Gut and the Globe: How Climate Crisis Alters Our Inner Ecosystem
NEWS DROP — PETAL 005
🗓️ Date: May 8, 2025
🧬 Thematic Focus: Science & Technology | Public Health | Climate Resilience
🌿 Intro Whisper:
The earth warms, crops wither—and deep inside us, the ancient colonies of microbes begin to change, silently echoing the chaos above.
🔍 Key Highlights:
- What’s in News:
A new study warns that climate change-induced food insecurity could disrupt the human gut microbiota, triggering global health concerns.
🥦 Gut Microbiota and Why It Matters:
- The human gut hosts over 100 trillion microbes: bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa.
- These microbes regulate:
➤ digestion
➤ immune function
➤ mental health
➤ chronic disease risk - Disruption in this balance, known as gut dysbiosis, is linked to infections, diabetes, obesity, and more.
⚠️ Climate Impacts on Gut Microbiota:
1. Food Yield and Nutrient Loss
- Elevated CO₂ levels reduce nutrients like iron, zinc, protein in wheat, rice, maize.
- This lowers dietary quality, especially in LMICs, leading to malnutrition and microbial imbalance.
2. Heatwaves & Enteric Infections
- High temperatures worsen waterborne diseases like cholera and E. coli outbreaks.
- These infections destabilize gut microbial diversity, causing long-term health effects.
3. Poor Diet Diversity
- Food scarcity in low-income regions leads to monotonous diets, reducing microbial variety and resilience.
🎯 Who is Most at Risk?
- Indigenous Communities:
– High microbial diversity but deep dependence on fragile ecosystems.
– Vulnerable to loss of native food systems. - Urban Poor in LMICs:
– Exposed to pollution, poor sanitation, and low-quality food.
– High risk of dysbiosis and chronic illness.
📘 GS Paper Mapping:
- GS Paper 2: Health & Nutrition; Climate Justice
- GS Paper 3: Biotechnology; Environmental Science & Human Well-being
- Essay: “The Microbial Mirror: What Gut Health Tells Us About Planetary Crisis”
🌠 Closing Thought:
We are not alone inside. In our gut lives a forest, a city, a universe of unseen companions—and what we feed the earth, we feed them too.
Target IAS-26: Daily MCQs :
📌 Prelims Practice MCQs
Topic:
MCQ 1: Type-1 — “How many of the above statements are correct?”
Consider the following statements regarding the impact of climate change on gut microbiota:
1. Rising CO₂ levels reduce crop nutrients such as iron and zinc, affecting diet quality.
2. Heatwaves increase the incidence of enteric infections, which can alter gut microbial balance.
3. Gut dysbiosis refers to the increase in microbial diversity that improves digestion.
4. Indigenous communities and urban poor in LMICs are at greater risk of gut microbiota disruption.
How many of the above statements are correct?
A) Only two
B) Only three
C) All four
D) Only one
🌀 Didn’t get it? Click here (▸) for the Correct Answer & Explanation
✅ Correct Answer: B) Only three
🧠 Explanation:
1) Correct – Elevated CO₂ reduces nutrient content in major crops like wheat and rice.
2) Correct – Heatwaves lead to infections that disturb gut microbiota.
3) Incorrect – Dysbiosis is a disruption, not enhancement, of microbial balance.
4) Correct – These groups are more vulnerable due to dependence on poor diets or fragile ecosystems.
MCQ 2: Type-2 — Two-Statement Assertion
Consider the following statements:
1. Gut microbiota comprises bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa within the digestive tract.
2. Climate-induced food insecurity improves microbial diversity by introducing new diets.
Which of the above statements are correct?
A) Only 1 is correct
B) Only 2 is correct
C) Both are correct
D) Neither is correct
🌀 Didn’t get it? Click here (▸) for the Correct Answer & Explanation
✅ Correct Answer: A) Only 1 is correct
🧠 Explanation:
•1) Correct – Gut microbiota includes a wide range of microorganisms essential for health.
2) Incorrect – Food insecurity reduces, not enhances, microbial diversity.
MCQ 3: Type-3 — “Which of the above statements is/are correct?”
Consider the following statements about gut microbiota and health:
1. Over 100 trillion microbes inhabit the human gut, playing a crucial role in immune and digestive functions.
2. Poor sanitation and limited diet quality in urban slums contribute to gut dysbiosis.
3. Climate change may lead to improved gut health due to adaptive microbial changes.
4. Dysbiosis is associated with increased vulnerability to chronic diseases.
A) 1, 2 and 4 only
B) 1 and 3 only
C) 2, 3 and 4 only
D) All four
🌀 Didn’t get it? Click here (▸) for the Correct Answer & Explanation
✅ Correct Answer: A) 1, 2 and 4 only
🧠 Explanation:
1) Correct – The gut houses a massive microbial population influencing health.
2) Correct – Urban poor face multiple environmental stressors affecting gut health.
3) Incorrect – Climate change generally disrupts rather than enhances microbial health.
4) Correct – Dysbiosis links to infections, malnutrition, and chronic illness.
MCQ 4: Type-4 — Direct Factual Question
What term refers to the microbial imbalance in the human gut often triggered by poor diet or infections?
A) Symbiosis
B) Dysbiosis
C) Homeostasis
D) Mycosis
🌀 Didn’t get it? Click here (▸) for the Correct Answer & Explanation.
✅ Correct Answer: B) Dysbiosis
🧠 Explanation:
B) Dysbiosis is the term for an imbalance or maladaptation in the microbial population of the gut.
