Climate Change: 2023 has been the warmest year on record, with global temperatures reaching their greatest point in over a million years. Since 2022, heat records have been surpassed on every continent. A major and developing threat to health in the future is posed by climate change, according to the most recent edition of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change. A “4.7-fold increase in heat-related deaths by the middle of the century” is predicted for the global population, according to this.
The Lancet Report Highlights Climate Change Harms
The report also emphasises the current harm that climate change is causing to people’s lives and livelihoods. People were exposed to extreme temperatures that can be harmful to their health on an average of 86 days in 2022. of which 60% was brought on by climate change brought on by humans.
Lancet Report Urges Swift Action on Climate Change
The report’s authors denounced the “recklessness” of governments, businesses, and banks that keep funding oil and gas projects even as the world approaches irreversible damage and adaptation obstacles and costs rise. He issued a dire warning, saying that until serious and swift action is taken to address the underlying causes of climate change, human health is seriously jeopardised.
Lancet Report’s Inclusion of Regional Section
The report’s newly included regional section emphasises the disparate and varied experiences with the health effects of climate change. The health benefits of adapting to climate change and shifting to sustainable energy are already being felt by them. The authors of the report point out that energy transmission may help people’s health and lessen health disparities.
Lancet Authors Advocate Immediate Health-Centric Measures
The authors of the paper contend that immediate action centred on health is necessary to transition the global economy to a carbon-free one. In his words, it ought to offer “transformative opportunities” to enhance global population health via enhanced energy security and access, safer drinking water, cleaner air, better foods and lifestyles, and more livable cities.
Temperature Increase Warning
The study’s most recent data exposes a grave danger to the existence and well-being of billions of people worldwide. Under such circumstances, rapid action is required to keep the increase in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. By 2100, the global temperature might rise by 2.7 degrees Celsius from its current level. In 2022, energy-related emissions are predicted to hit a new high, endangering the lives of present and future generations.
Health Stocktake Warning
“Our health stocktake shows that the growing risks of climate change are harming lives and livelihoods around the world today,” the report said. Marina Romanello, executive director of The Lancet Countdown at University College London, said: “2 degree A Celsius warmer world signals a dangerous future. The pace and scale of efforts made so far in this direction are inadequate to protect the health and safety of the people. Under the direction of University College London, 114 top experts from 52 research institutes and United Nations agencies worldwide—including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)—have contributed to the 8th Lancet Countdown report. offers the most recent analysis of the connections between climate change and other factors.
Lancet Report Released Ahead of 28th UN Conference of the Parties
Published ahead of the 28th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP), the report presents 47 indicators including new and improved metrics. The health care system is the first line of defense to protect people from the increasing health harms of a changing climate. But the current 1.14°C heating is putting severe pressure on health services, with 27 percent (141/525) of the cities surveyed expressing concern over health systems due to the impacts of climate change.
Lancet Report Highlights 490 Billion Potential Hours Due to Heat in 2022
Remarkably, it was estimated that the overall value of economic damages resulting from extreme weather events would reach USD 264 billion in 2022, a 23 percent increase from 2010 to 2014. An estimated 490 billion potential labour hours would be lost due to heat worldwide in 2022, representing a 42 percent increase from 1991 to 2000. In low- and middle-income countries, income losses account for the majority of GDP (6.1 percent) and 3.8% in high-income nations. It was a higher ratio. Livelihoods are being harmed more and more by these losses, which makes it harder to adapt to and recover from the effects of climate change.
Climate Vulnerability Forum Support
The new projections, developed with support from the Climate Vulnerability Forum (CVF), outline the rapidly increasing risks to people’s health if the 1.5°C target is missed, with every health threat predicted to be monitored by The Lancet Countdown. It is estimated that the situation will worsen if the temperature rises to 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
Labor Hours Under Threat
In this scenario, potential labour hours from heat exposure are likely to increase by 50% globally, and annual heat-related mortality are predicted to climb by 370% by the middle of the century. Increased frequency of heatwaves may cause an additional 525 million people to experience moderate to severe food insecurity between 2041 and 2060, hence raising the risk of undernutrition worldwide.
Fossil Fuel Companies Set to Exceed Paris Agreement Targets
Since last year, the 20 biggest oil and gas producers in the world have raised their combined expected levels of fossil fuel output, which has led to a 173 percent increase in greenhouse gas emissions over levels consistent with 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the year 2040. This will further decrease adherence to the Paris Agreement (beyond the 112 percent increase anticipated from their 2022 goals). Moreover, in 2022, fossil fuel companies committed only 4% of their capital expenditure to renewable energy, making a healthy future unattainable.
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