Heat-related deaths rose by 63% since 1990s, claiming over 5L lives yearly: Lancet report
Heat-related deaths rose by 63% since 1990s, claiming over 5L lives yearly: Lancet report
Heat-related deaths have increased by 63 per cent since the 1990s, averaging 5,46,000 deaths yearly from 2012-21, according to an alarming report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change on Wednesday.
The report, authored by 128 multidisciplinary experts worldwide, showed how climate inaction is claiming millions of lives every year, causing widespread floods, droughts, and wildfires, and also facilitating the spread of infectious diseases across the globe.
The report, which comes ahead of the COP 30 to be held in November in Brazil, found that 12 of 20 key indicators tracking health threats have reached record levels, showing how climate inaction is costing lives, straining health systems, and undermining economies.=
It warned that continued overreliance on fossil fuels and failure to adapt to a heating world are already having a devastating toll on human health.
“The climate crisis is a health crisis. Every fraction of a degree of warming costs lives and livelihoods,” said Dr Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Care at the World Health Organization.
“This report, produced with WHO as a strategic partner, makes clear that climate inaction is killing people now in all countries. However, climate action is also the greatest health opportunity of our time. Cleaner air, healthier diets, and resilient health systems can save millions of lives now and protect current and future generations,” Farrar added. Driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, climate change is increasingly claiming lives and harming people’s health worldwide.
