When talking about climate change, it can feel distant, something about melting ice caps or vanishing glaciers. But here in Trinidad and Tobago, it’s much closer. It’s the unbearable heat on the Savannah, the floods that sweep through our country. The soaring price of tomatoes after a dry season, and the mosquitoes breeding in every uncovered container. These aren’t random events. Climate change brings hotter temperatures, heavier bursts of rainfall, and longer wet seasons, all of which create perfect breeding conditions for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread dengue. What was once one barrel of stagnant water after a shower has now become a city block of flooded drains and containers alive with larvae. Climate change isn’t only an environmental problem. It’s the greatest health threat of our time – but it is also the greatest opportunity for innovation, and no group is better placed to seize that opportunity than our students. On October 15th, World Students’ Day, let’s help our young people, many of whom have already recognized this threat, to act.
Some of my own experiences as a student led me to act. The MPH (Master of Public Health) programme at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine deepened my understanding of public health, facilitated my practicum placement at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), and guided my research project on dengue fever. These experiences translated classroom knowledge into real-world impact.
A key lesson I carried away from this programme is that knowledge without action is incomplete; data must lead to change. My project report put this to the test by examining the knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning dengue fever in Trinidad and Tobago. Dengue, one of T&T’s most climate-sensitive diseases, thrives in hotter, wetter conditions. When intense rainfall leaves water standing in drums, drains, and discarded containers, it provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Rising heat increases virus transmission rates, amplifying outbreaks. In 2024 alone, T&T saw more than 1,500 confirmed cases and 19 deaths. My research found that while most people understood the dangers, far fewer consistently acted to reduce risk.
During my practicum with CARPHA, the gap between awareness and practice became even clearer. For six weeks, I worked with the Vector Borne Disease Unit, analyzing outbreak data, supporting insect surveillance, and helping to design public education tools. It became impossible to ignore how environmental shifts from heavier rains to rising temperatures were reshaping the conditions in which disease spreads, and I concluded that we must push for knowledge to become action.
Dengue is just one symptom of a larger crisis. Floodwaters spread leptospirosis, dry spells threaten crops while increasing food prices and intense heat waves push our bodies to the edge. As a cardiologist, I know the human body is fragile under stress. Rising heat increases dehydration and places added strain on the heart, particularly for the elderly and those living with chronic conditions like hypertension and heart failure. “Just another hot day” can tip vulnerable patients into crisis. Even mental health suffers as families face repeated storms, floods, and the uncertainty that comes with them.
So, how can students help? Our students already show the energy and creativity needed to make positive changes. They can lead school and community clean-ups, plant trees on the compound, design apps to track mosquito breeding sites, and share prevention tips on social media with thousands in minutes. They can demand greener campuses and climate-smart planning. They aren’t waiting to lead tomorrow; they’re already leading today.
But to unleash their potential, we must create an enabling environment. This means integrating climate and health into school curriculum, teaching them as connected realities, supporting clubs and youth organizations, and providing mentorship that helps ideas grow into real solutions. Imagine a university student developing a simple app to help track mosquito breeding sites, or a secondary school science class turning its project into a community-wide awareness campaign. With support, these small sparks can become powerful change.
When students are empowered, they don’t just learn, they transform their communities.
The wider public has its role too. Cover and clean water containers, keep drains clear, check on elderly neighbours during extreme heat. Support community recycling and tree-planting drives. Advocate for safer housing, better drainage, and resilient food systems. These steps may feel small, but together they build the resilience our Caribbean needs.
On this World Students’ Day, let’s celebrate our students as learners and as leaders. Let’s invest in their voices, ideas, and creativity. Given the chance, they will rise to climate change’s challenge, reshaping the future of our nation. Every covered barrel, every cleared drain, every tree planted, every idea tested by a student leader adds up to a healthier, more resilient country. By empowering students, we ensure that the story of climate change in Trinidad and Tobago is not one of defeat, but of determination, innovation, and survival.
The foregoing is a weekly column by EarthMedic and EarthNurse NGO to help readers understand and address the climate and health crisis.
