Study finds climate change could drive new snakebite hotspots

New Delhi: Climate change could be creating conditions conducive for venomous snakes to shift and spread into India's north and northeast, potentially increasing risks of snakebites in regions so far considered unsuitable for the species, a study has found.

The 'Big Four' refers to the four species of venomous snakes -- common krait, Russell's viper, echis carinatus and Indian cobra -- that are known to be responsible for the majority of snakebite cases among humans on the Indian subcontinent.

Researchers from Dibru-Saikhowa Conservation Society and Assam Agricultural University, and Pukyong National University in South Korea, projected that Haryana, Rajasthan and Assam might see an expansion in habitat suitable for the Big Four snakes, due to conditions driven by climate change -- rising heat and humidity.

Increasing human-snake interactions across rural and urban areas could present new challenges for public health and medical management, the team said.