According to the latest data from “The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change,” climate change is significantly increasing health-damaging risks worldwide.
The annual global rate of heat-related mortality has risen by 23% since the 1990s, claiming approximately 546,000 lives annually globally.
The year 2024 has been a record-hot year. As a result of climate change, this year increased the duration of exposure to health-threatening heat for the average global citizen by an additional 16 days. For example, the population in the United States experienced an average of 14 days of extreme heat, with 10 of those days being a direct consequence of climate change caused by human activity.
Following the rise in temperature, air pollution caused by wildfire smoke led to a record 154,000 deaths in 2024. The US recorded 11,500 deaths attributable to wildfire smoke, which is a 49% increase compared to the 2003–2012 average.
Furthermore, approximately 2.5 million deaths annually are attributed to air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
Simultaneously, drought and heatwaves have caused crop yields to decrease. In 2023, approximately 123 million more people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity compared to the 1981-2010 global average. Nearly a third of the US territory (31%) experienced at least one month of extreme drought annually from 2020 to 2024, representing a 28% increase compared to the weather conditions of the 1950s.
Despite the damage caused by climate change reaching catastrophic scales, researchers note that the industry and the financial sector continue to expand fossil fuel production. The world’s 100 largest oil and gas companies increased production by March 2025, while the 40 largest financial institutions (lenders) to the fossil fuel sector invested a total of $611 billion in this area in 2024, which is 29% more than in 2023 and represents the highest figure recorded in the last five years.
Experts warn: if the world continues to increase its dependence on fossil fuels, the consequences caused by climate change will overwhelm the healthcare sector. This situation will directly threaten the health and lives of 8 billion people worldwide.
