Record-breaking heat, extreme weather, pollution, and disease spread are intensifying global health risks as climate change accelerates. The upcoming COP29 talks in Azerbaijan unfold amid warnings from experts that climate change is already endangering human health worldwide and will only worsen if action is delayed. With 2024 projected as the hottest year in recorded history, and a resurgence of climate skepticism with Donald Trump’s re-election as U.S. President, the need for urgent solutions has never been more critical.
Extreme heat is among the deadliest effects of global warming. The EU’s climate monitor indicates that 2024 is almost certain to exceed the previous year as the hottest on record, surpassing 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time. The number of heat-related deaths in those over 65 has increased by 167% since the 1990s, and extreme heat raises risks for kidney disorders, strokes, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory conditions. Recent data highlights the real-time impacts: over 700 deaths and 40,000 cases of heat stroke in India, alongside severe floods in Spain and hurricanes impacting Cuba and the U.S., exemplify the dangers.
Air pollution exacerbates these health challenges. Currently, 99% of the global population breathes air exceeding WHO pollution standards, increasing risks for lung cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other ailments. WHO estimates nearly seven million premature deaths annually from pollution exposure, likening its impacts to those of tobacco use. Pakistan’s city of Lahore, for instance, recorded air pollution levels last week that were 40 times higher than acceptable limits. Nevertheless, there’s hope: recent efforts have reduced fossil fuel-related pollution deaths by nearly 7% from 2016 to 2021, mainly by curbing coal burning.
Climate change also promotes the spread of infectious diseases. Warmer temperatures allow mosquitoes, birds, and mammals to venture beyond their natural habitats, increasing the spread of diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and malaria. The transmission risk for dengue, for example, has risen by 43% over the last 60 years, with a record-breaking five million cases globally last year. Stagnant water from floods and storms further facilitates mosquito breeding and spreads waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
As the World Health Organization stresses, climate change is a matter of “life and death.”
