Climate inaction leads to millions of deaths every year
A new report from the World Health Organization says that the global failure to adapt to climate change is negatively affecting people’s lives and causing millions of deaths every year. The scalpel.
The scalpel Today it published its ninth annual report, Countdown to Health and Climate Change, led by University College London and produced in collaboration with the World Health Organization. It aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the links between climate change and health.
“This year’s Health Assessment paints an undeniably bleak picture of devastating health damage reaching all corners of the world – with unprecedented health threats from heat, extreme weather events and wildfire smoke killing millions. The devastation to lives and livelihoods will continue to mount until we end our addiction to fossil fuels and dramatically enhance our adaptive capacities,” said Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown at University College. London, warned in a press release.
Twelve of the 20 health risk and climate change impact indicators in the report relate to new records – making clear that the health impacts of climate change have reached unprecedented levels that cannot be ignored. Indicators studied include extreme heat, weather events, food security and pollution.
Weather events, such as extreme heat and wildfires, are becoming more common due to climate change and are having a deadly impact on the lives of thousands. The number of heat-related deaths has risen by 23% since the 1990s, now reaching 546,000 annually, according to the report. The report found that in 2024, the hottest year on record, the average person would experience an additional 16 health-threatening hot days. Air pollution caused by wildfire smoke was also linked to a record number of deaths of 154,000 people last year.
The delay in adopting clean energy is also affecting our health. Each year, 2.5 million deaths are attributed to air pollution caused by the continued burning of fossil fuels. Many of these deaths could be prevented by switching to clean energy, as air pollution caused by household use of dirty fuels and technologies in 65 countries led to 2.3 million deaths in 2022, according to the report. The report says energy-related emissions have reached new highs, with the world’s largest fossil fuel giants increasing their projected production to a scale three times larger than what a habitable planet could support. According to the Paris Agreement, the world must reach peak global emissions before this year at the latest, and fall by 43% by 2030 in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The report calls on leaders to focus on green solutions that can also improve health outcomes, and warns that political retreat from climate commitments will only cause further harm. “The scarcity of financial support for adaptation remains a major constraint, and the data in this report show that it remains largely insufficient to cover the financial needs revealed by countries,” Romanello said. “The political shift towards reducing foreign aid support from some of the world’s richest countries is further constraining financial support for climate action, leaving the entire population increasingly unprotected.”
Despite the rollback of climate action in the United States, many governments and communities are taking action globally — and reaping the health benefits that come with it. According to the latest data analyzed by the study, the increasing shift away from coal, especially in rich countries, prevented an estimated 160,000 premature deaths annually between 2010 and 2022, and renewable energy generation reached record levels in 2022.
Report contributors say this is just one example of how combating climate change can improve health outcomes for people around the world.
“Action on climate change remains one of the greatest health opportunities of the 21st century, driving development, stimulating innovation, creating jobs and reducing energy poverty,” Tafadzwa Mahbodi, director of The Lancet Countdown for Africa, said in a statement. “Achieving the many benefits of a health-focused response requires unlocking hitherto untapped opportunities to mitigate climate change and build resilience to the impacts that are already being felt.”