Report shows 23% rise in heat-related deaths since 1990s
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and global partners have called for the protection of people’s health to be recognised as the most powerful driver of climate action, as a new global report revealed that 12 of 20 key indicators tracking health threats have reached record levels. The findings highlight how inaction on climate change is costing lives, straining health systems, and undermining economies, WAM reports.
The 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report, produced in collaboration with WHO, found that the rate of heat-related mortality has increased by 23 percent since the 1990s, with total heat-related deaths now averaging 546,000 per year. Droughts and heatwaves have also contributed to an additional 124 million people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023.
The report noted that heat exposure led to the loss of 640 billion potential labour hours in 2024, resulting in productivity losses valued at US$1.09 trillion, while the costs of heat-related deaths among older adults reached US$261 billion.
It further showed that governments spent US$956 billion on net fossil fuel subsidies in 2023, more than triple the annual amount pledged to support climate-vulnerable nations. Fifteen countries spent more on fossil fuel subsidies than on their entire national health budgets.
The report also highlighted progress in some areas, estimating that between 2010 and 2022, around 160,000 premature deaths were avoided each year due to reduced coal-derived outdoor air pollution. Renewable energy generation reached a record 12 percent of global electricity, supporting 16 million jobs worldwide.
Earlier, a climate study found that overheating world will add 57 superhot days a year.
