Climate change poses ‘global health emergency’ as health risks accelerate: Report

Climate change has become a “global health emergency,” with rising temperatures, extreme drought and other climate-related threats causing increasing harm to human health, according to findings from a new Lancet study, ABC News reported Tuesday. 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 since the 2015 Paris Agreement, according to ABC News.

“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, involving 146 researchers from more than 100 institutions, estimated that heat contributed to more than 540,000 deaths annually between 2016 and 2023, with 68% attributed to climate change.

In 2023 alone, heat was linked to approximately 710,000 deaths, more than 71% of which were attributed to climate change. Researchers estimated that extreme heat caused more than $1 trillion in lost potential income worldwide in 2025, marking the third consecutive year above that threshold. The report also found that more than half of the world’s land experienced extreme drought for at least one month in 2025. Meanwhile, global clean energy investment reached $2.1 trillion in 2025, although fossil fuels continued to account for more than 80% of global energy supply.

The researchers urged governments and international institutions to prioritize climate-related health risks, accelerate emissions reductions 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.