A report issued by the international research initiative “The Lancet Countdown”, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, has revealed that climate change is an unprecedented threat to global health. Its worsening effects contribute to millions of deaths each year worldwide.
According to Agence France-Presse, the report highlighted several health impacts of climate change, particularly heatwaves that disproportionately affect the elderly and infants, prolonged droughts threatening food security, air pollution, and increasingly frequent wildfires.
The findings indicate that, between 2012 and 2021, heat-related deaths averaged 546,000 annually. In 2024, wildfires caused by smoke led to the deaths of 154,000 people, while air pollution linked to fossil fuels was responsible for more than 2.5 million deaths in 2022.
The report also underscores those millions of deaths could be avoided each year if governments took stronger action to combat global warming. It noted a decline in effective public policies and a reduction in essential development aid to help countries adapt to the effects of climate change.
“The Lancet Countdown” report is prepared annually by a team of over 100 researchers from around the world, in coordination with University College London and the World Health Organization, tracking the impact of climate change on public health.
