A new report prepared by a group of doctors and health experts warns that climate change caused by fossil fuel emissions is raising temperatures to dangerous new levels and exacerbating the problem of drought and food security.
Record temperatures for 2023, the hottest year on record, mean the average person experienced 50 more days of dangerous temperatures than they would have without climate change, according to The Lancet Countdown, an annual report based on the work of dozens of researchers. Experts, academic institutions and United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organization.
The elderly are most at risk, as the number of heat-related deaths among those over the age of 65 last year reached a 167% higher level compared to these deaths in the 1990s.
According to the report, had it not been for climate change, researchers would have expected this number to rise by only 65% over the 1990s.
“From year to year, deaths directly linked to climate change are increasing,” said Marina Belén Romanello, executive director of The Lancet Countdown.
She added, “Heat not only affects the mortality rate and increases mortality, but also increases diseases and health problems associated with exposure to heat.”
For example, she said that those who exercise outdoors are at increased risk. Businesses also face limited ability to operate outdoors.
The report’s co-authors also warned that climate change is making the food situation precarious.
The researchers said that up to 48% of the world’s land area faced severe drought conditions last year, and about 151 million additional people are expected to suffer from food insecurity as a result, compared to the years 1981 to 2010.
Last year’s heavy rains also affected nearly 60% of the land, causing floods and raising the risk of water pollution or the spread of infectious diseases.
The researchers urged the upcoming UN climate summit (COP29) to direct climate finance towards public health. The summit begins on November 11 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on countries around the world to “cure climate inaction” by reducing the use of fossil fuels and emissions for “a more equitable, safer and healthier future for all.”