Lancet: Heat Killed 710,000 in 2023 as Climate Crisis Surges
(MENAFN) Climate change has become a “global health emergency,” as rising temperatures, extreme drought and other climate-related threats inflict mounting harm on human health, according to a new Lancet study reported Tuesday by a U.S. television news network.
The 2026 Lancet Countdown report, led by University College London in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), found that climate-related health risks are accelerating despite progress made since the 2015 Paris Agreement, the network reported.
“A decade after the Paris Agreement, our findings are unambiguous: the health harms of climate change are growing faster than the world’s response to them, and in many cases even accelerating,” said Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown.
The study, which drew on 146 researchers from more than 100 institutions, estimated that heat contributed to more than 540,000 deaths a year between 2016 and 2023, with 68% of them attributed to climate change. In 2023 alone, heat was linked to roughly 710,000 deaths, and more than 71% of those were attributed to climate change.
Extreme heat also cost the global economy more than $1 trillion in lost potential income in 2025, researchers estimated, the third year in a row above that mark. More than half of the world’s land endured extreme drought for at least one month in 2025, the report found.
There was some progress. Global clean energy investment hit $2.1 trillion in 2025, though fossil fuels still supplied more than 80% of the world’s energy.
The researchers called on governments and international institutions to put climate-related health risks first, speed up emissions cuts and strengthen global cooperation.
“This isn’t a gradual worsening; it’s a step change that must be recognized as the global health emergency it is,” Romanello said.
The 2026 Lancet Countdown report, led by University College London in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), found that climate-related health risks are accelerating despite progress made since the 2015 Paris Agreement, the network reported.
“A decade after the Paris Agreement, our findings are unambiguous: the health harms of climate change are growing faster than the world’s response to them, and in many cases even accelerating,” said Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown.
The study, which drew on 146 researchers from more than 100 institutions, estimated that heat contributed to more than 540,000 deaths a year between 2016 and 2023, with 68% of them attributed to climate change. In 2023 alone, heat was linked to roughly 710,000 deaths, and more than 71% of those were attributed to climate change.
Extreme heat also cost the global economy more than $1 trillion in lost potential income in 2025, researchers estimated, the third year in a row above that mark. More than half of the world’s land endured extreme drought for at least one month in 2025, the report found.
There was some progress. Global clean energy investment hit $2.1 trillion in 2025, though fossil fuels still supplied more than 80% of the world’s energy.
The researchers called on governments and international institutions to put climate-related health risks first, speed up emissions cuts and strengthen global cooperation.
“This isn’t a gradual worsening; it’s a step change that must be recognized as the global health emergency it is,” Romanello said.
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