Experts urge 'global health emergency' as climate harms and heat deaths accelerate

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🗞️ Driving the news: Nearly 150 researchers from more than 30 countries are calling for climate change to be declared a global health emergency
• A new Lancet Countdown report highlights escalating health and economic damage from extreme heat, drought and other climate-related threats, strengthening calls to put public health at the centre of climate policy

🔭 The context: The health burden has intensified in the decade since the Paris Agreement was signed
• Climate-related heat deaths, growing drought exposure and lost income demonstrate that global warming is not only an environmental challenge but also a direct threat to human health, food and water security, and livelihoods

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Climate change is already driving substantial health impacts, from fatal heat exposure to conditions that threaten food and water supplies and increase disease risks
• Treating these consequences as an urgent global health priority could strengthen action to protect vulnerable populations and limit further warming

⏭️ What’s next: Researchers are urging greater international recognition of the health emergency and a shift towards measuring climate progress through lives saved and improved health outcomes, alongside emissions reductions

💬 One quote: “We must change course and put the health and well-being of people at the heart of our response to climate change — measuring success not through emissions targets or degrees Celsius but by lives saved and health outcomes improved.” — Alan Dangour, Director of Climate and Health at Wellcome Trust

📈 One stat: More than 500,000 heat deaths were attributed to climate change in 2023 alone

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