Heat-related deaths surge 63% amid record global temperatures

LONDON

The number of heat-related deaths has surged 63% since the 1990s, reaching an estimated 546,000 annually, according to the latest Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change.

The report, released Tuesday, found that 84% of life-threatening heatwave days recorded between 2020 and 2024 would not have occurred without climate change. Infants and adults over 65 remain the most vulnerable.

It said heat exposure led to a record loss of 639 billion work hours worldwide – around 98% higher than the 1990s average – resulting in an estimated $1.09 trillion hit to the global economy, or about 1% of global GDP.

“The health threats of climate change have reached unprecedented levels,” said this year’s report, released Tuesday. It added that climate change is “destabilizing the planetary systems and environmental conditions on which human life depends.”

In addition to heat-related deaths, the report linked wildfire smoke exposure to a record 154,000 deaths last year.

It also warned that the global average transmission potential of dengue, a viral infection spread by mosquitoes, has also risen 49% since the 1950s.

Air pollution from burning fossil fuels was found to cause around 2.5 million deaths each year, the report added.

The latest data, from 2023, reveals that emissions generated due to energy increased 1.6% to record levels and global tree cover loss grew by 24% to over 28 million hectares (69 million acres).

In 2024, global annual mean surface temperatures exceeded pre-industrial levels by over 1.5C (2.7F) for the first time on record, while the past decade was the hottest ever recorded.

Released shortly before the UN COP30 climate talks in Brazil, the health journal’s report called for greater investment in zero-carbon energy, climate-resilient infrastructure and improved planning for health impacts.

The authors were fiercely critical of US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw his country from international aid programs and climate initiatives.

“Reversing these harmful policies and advancing meaningful climate action is now crucial to protect people’s health and survival,” the report said.

“Encouragingly, doing so can simultaneously deliver major and immediate health and economic benefits,” it added, noting that clean energy accounted for 10% of global GDP growth in 2023.