Climate change drives global health crisis with record heat, rising food insecurity: Report

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - A new report by health experts highlights the severe health risks posed by climate change, as rising global temperatures fuel deadly heat waves, worsen food insecurity, and facilitate the spread of infectious diseases.

The 2024 Lancet Countdown report, an annual analysis of climate impacts on health, warns that last year’s record-breaking temperatures are taking a dramatic toll on human lives and economies.

The report, which features research from 122 experts including contributors from the World Health Organization (WHO), was released Wednesday and details escalating environmental and public health crises.

Data from the report indicates that in 2023, which was the hottest year ever recorded, climate change added 50 extra days of dangerously high temperatures for the average person.

This surge in extreme heat has impacted health, labor productivity, and food systems, with even worse effects anticipated if global warming continues unchecked, the report said.

Health risks associated with rising temperatures are particularly acute among older populations.

Deaths among people over 65 due to heat exposure surged by 167% compared to the 1990s. "Year on year, the deaths directly associated with climate change are increasing," said Dr. Marina Belen Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown.

Romanello further said that rising temperatures are not only causing an increase in mortality rates but also exacerbating diseases and medical conditions linked to heat stress, adding strain on health care systems worldwide.

Meanwhile, food security has deteriorated as extreme weather events disrupt crop production, the report highlighted.

Last year, extreme drought conditions affected up to 48% of the world's land area, leaving an estimated 151 million people facing food insecurity, compared to averages recorded between 1981 and 2010.

Droughts and floods have impacted major food-producing regions, raising concerns about long-term food stability. This trend has particularly serious implications for low-income communities and countries that rely heavily on agricultural exports.

In addition to human health costs, climate change is diminishing economic productivity.

The report estimates that labor losses due to extreme heat reached 512 billion potential labor hours last year, resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses.

Many outdoor and agricultural workers are finding it impossible to continue working through increasingly extreme heat conditions, threatening livelihoods in already vulnerable communities.

Despite these warnings, large oil and gas companies have ramped up fossil fuel production, spurred by record-breaking profits and rising energy demands following the 2022 Ukraine crisis, it added.

"Current policies and actions, if sustained, put the world on track to 2.7 degrees Celsius of heating by 2100," the report said.