Global heat-related deaths have surged since the 1990s, with high temperatures killing more than half-a-million people annually, according to an audit on the worldwide health impacts of climate change.
“That means approximately one heat-related death every minute throughout the year, a really startling number that is going up,” said Ollie Jay, a professor at the University of Sydney, Australia, who co-authored the report.
Rising heat is one way climate change is killing people across the globe. Other dangers include air pollution and vector-borne diseases, both of which are also sickening people. The report, known as the “Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change,” was published as many governments are off-track to meet their goals toward reducing greenhouse gases.
The annual report by The Lancet is produced by 128 experts from 70 academic institutions and United Nations agencies. It examines 20 so-called indicators of the health impacts and risks of climate change. This year, 13 of them have gotten more severe. In addition to worsening heat and disease, the report points to other impacts:
