Adults over 65 years and infants under a year old, both vulnerable to extreme heat, are now experiencing twice as many heatwave days in a year than they would have in 1986-2005, says a Lancet report calling for climate-driven health action.

The climate crisis was threatening to unravel decades of progress in public health, the Lancet Countdown Report said, outlining the devastating toll on lives and livelihoods. “More children will suffer from malnutrition, outbreaks of diseases will become more frequent and widespread, and deaths from respiratory diseases will continue to rise,” the report said, ahead of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, next month in the United Arab Emirates.

“The increasing destructiveness of extreme weather events jeopardises water security and food production, putting millions of people at risk of malnutrition. The alarming statistics of more frequent heatwaves and droughts were responsible for 127 million more people experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity in 122 countries in 2021, compared with the annual numbers seen between 1981 and 2010,” the report said.

Pointing to the accelerating spread of life-threatening infectious diseases, from climate change, it said, “Warmer seas have increased the area of the world’s coastline suitable for the spread of Vibrio bacteria that can cause illness and death in humans by 329 km every year since 1982, putting a record 1.4 billion people at risk of diarrhoeal disease, severe wound infections, and sepsis.” And Europe was highly susceptible, it added, since “Vibrio-suitable coastal waters have increased by 142km every year.”

There was also the risk of worsening health equities, the report said, as health systems are increasingly strained. Warning of dangers looming ahead, the report says, “The world is heading in the wrong direction, continuing its dependency on fossil fuels and leaving the most vulnerable communities behind in the essential transition to sustainable energy sources.”

Health and climate action

Implementing the Paris Agreement is not only a global imperative for the environment but a critical public health necessity, the report said. “Failing to take meaningful action toward the agreement’s 1.5°C goal will result in severe consequences for humanity and its health,” it added.

Supporting the report, the World Health Organisation called on countries to put health at the centre of climate action and invest “in sustainable, climate-resilient health, food, water, and sanitation systems accessible to all.”

The government can lead with “a just, equitable, and rapid phase-out of fossil fuels, transitioning toward clean and renewable energy sources. This transition will not only mitigate climate change but also enhance air quality for 99 per cent of the global population, reducing air pollution’s detrimental effects,” the WHO said.

Maria Neira, WHO Director for Environment, Climate Change and Health pointed out that the path to a sustainable future started with “taking bold and urgent steps, transitioning to renewable energy, reducing emissions across all sectors, and building adaptation and resilience, to name just a few.” The upcoming COP28 will be a “watershed moment”, she said, to address health and ensure a healthier and more resilient world.

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