Health · Public Health & Disease · 1 hr ago
Heat linked to nearly 3 million deaths worldwide from 2016 to 2023
A study by 146 researchers from 30 countries estimates that heat caused nearly 3 million deaths worldwide from 2016 to 2023.
In 2023 alone, heat was linked to a record 710,000 deaths, and the study attributes more than two-thirds of them to human-caused climate change.
Researchers compare recorded heat deaths with estimates of how many would have occurred without climate change.
The study says climate change is worsening health risks faster than the world is responding, and calls for it to be declared a global health emergency.
That status could help governments build a coordinated, long-term response, similar to emergency arrangements used during pandemics.
Heat also reduces workers’ productivity, costing the global economy an estimated $1 trillion a year over the past three years.
The study notes that health systems and early-warning systems have improved in some countries, but fossil fuels still supply 80% of the world’s energy.
A Lancet Countdown study estimates that climate change caused nearly 3 million heat-related deaths worldwide from 2016 to 2023.
The study estimates that more than two-thirds of heat deaths in 2023 were attributable to human-caused climate change.
Researchers say the health impacts of climate change are growing faster than the global response.
The report calls for climate change to be recognized as a global health emergency.
The study also records progress in clean-energy investment and health-system preparation, while warning that fossil fuels remain a major source of energy and pollution.
- Who
- Researchers behind the Lancet Countdown study. Marina Romanello, its executive director, called for climate change to be recognized as a global health emergency.
- What
- The study estimates nearly 3 million heat-related deaths worldwide were caused by climate change from 2016 to 2023.
- When
- From 2016 to 2023. The report was published on Wednesday ahead of COP31.
- Where
- Worldwide.
- Why
- Human-caused climate change has increased the intensity and frequency of heat, contributing to more deaths.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The study period begins, the year the Paris Agreement entered into force.
The study period ends, and the report identifies a record 710,000 heat-related deaths worldwide.
Clean-energy investment reached $2.1 trillion, twice the amount invested in fossil fuels, according to the report.
The articles reported on the Lancet Countdown study ahead of COP31.
- Heat-related deaths
- Nearly 3 million worldwide, 2016–2023
- Deaths in 2023
- 710,000 associated with heat
- Human-caused share
- More than two-thirds of heat deaths in 2023
- Researchers
- 146 researchers from 30 countries
- Clean-energy investment
- $2.1 trillion in 2025
- Fossil fuels
- About 80% of the world’s energy supply
2 sources
What people are saying
Los efectos perjudiciales del cambio climático sobre la salud avanzan más rápido que la respuesta mundial a esos efectos
Siempre hay períodos de fuerte calor, pero su intensidad y su frecuencia se ven amplificadas por el cambio climático de origen humano, por eso observamos más muertes de las que habríamos tenido
Even here in Australia, we know people do die from heatwaves, people do die from bushfire smoke exposure and things like that