A new report by health experts warns that climate change is driving temperatures to dangerous levels, leading to increased deaths, the spread of infectious diseases, worsening drought, and food insecurity.
The Lancet Countdown, an annual report based on research from 122 experts, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), highlights that in 2023 — the hottest year recorded so far — the average person experienced 50 additional days of extreme temperatures than they would have without climate change.
Released amid continued heatwaves, fires, hurricanes, droughts, and floods, the report anticipates that 2024 may become the hottest year on record. It also warns that
“Current policies and actions, if sustained, put the world on track to 2.7 (degrees Celsius) of heating by 2100.”
Tracking 15 key indicators over the last eight years, the experts found that 10 have reached concerning new records, including more frequent extreme weather events, increased elderly deaths from heat, and rising food insecurity as droughts and floods disrupt crops. Elderly populations are especially vulnerable, with heat-related deaths in people over 65 reaching 167 percent above 1990s levels.
“Year on year, the deaths directly associated with climate change are increasing,” said Marina Belen Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown. She emphasised that
“Heat is also affecting not just the mortality and increasing deaths, but also increasing the diseases and the pathologies associated with heat exposure.”
The economic impact of rising temperatures is also severe. The report estimates that last year’s extreme heat caused a loss of approximately 512 billion potential labour hours, translating to hundreds of billions of dollars in lost income globally.
The report also highlights the role of oil and gas companies, governments, and banks in exacerbating climate change, noting that major oil and gas corporations have ramped up fossil fuel production despite record profits. Several nations offered new subsidies to fossil fuels to alleviate high prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Rising temperatures are making food security increasingly unreliable. With up to 48 percent of the world’s land affected by severe drought conditions last year, researchers estimate that 151 million more people could be facing food insecurity compared to 1981-2010 levels. Extreme rainfall also impacted about 60 percent of lands, causing floods, raising water contamination risks, and increasing threats from diseases like dengue.
Ahead of the upcoming United Nations climate summit, COP29, beginning in Azerbaijan on November 11, the study’s authors call for directed funds toward public health initiatives. Despite alarming trends, the report highlights “very encouraging signs of progress,” including a nearly 7 percent drop in deaths from fossil fuel-related air pollution between 2016 and 2021, mainly due to reduced coal-burning emissions. Additionally, the proportion of electricity generated from clean renewables nearly doubled to 10.5 percent in this period.
“No individual or economy on the planet is immune from the health threats of climate change,” Romanello stressed.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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