With record-breaking heat extreme weather, and rising health risks, experts warn that climate change poses a grave threat to human health worldwide. As the COP29 negotiations open in Azerbaijan next week marking what could be the hottest year on record climate impacts on human well-being are in sharp focus, particularly given increasing global fossil fuel emissions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the urgency of climate action, declaring that “climate change is making us sick, and urgent action is a matter of life and death.” Here’s how global warming is already impacting health.
1. Extreme Heat
This year is set to be the hottest on record, surpassing previous years and likely marking the first time temperatures exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average. The number of heat-related deaths among people over 65 has surged by 167% since the 1990s. Extreme heat heightens risks of strokes, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disorders, and organ failure. For example, India has recorded 700 deaths and 40,000 cases of heat stroke, while droughts impact nearly all US states and other regions experience fatal weather disasters like floods and hurricanes.
2. Air Pollution
Around 99% of people worldwide breathe air that surpasses WHO’s pollution guidelines, linked to nearly seven million premature deaths annually. Air pollution raises risks of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, strokes, and lung cancer. Last week, Lahore, Pakistan, recorded pollution levels at 40 times the acceptable limit. While global deaths from fossil fuel-related pollution dropped by 7% from 2016 to 2021, mainly due to reduced coal emissions, dangerous levels of air pollution persist worldwide.
3. Spread of Infectious Diseases
Climate change is expanding the habitats of mosquitoes, birds, and mammals, heightening the risk of infectious diseases. Diseases like dengue, Zika, malaria, and West Nile virus are spreading more widely as temperatures rise. Dengue cases, for instance, have soared, with transmission risk up 43% over 60 years. Meanwhile, storms and floods create breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and stagnant waters increase the threat of waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid.
Looking Forward
As global leaders gather for COP29, the WHO, scientists, and climate advocates emphasize that the health impacts of climate change are worsening and will continue without aggressive action to limit emissions.
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