Starvation and disease – how climate change affects us
The health consequences of climate change could be devastating. Extreme heat, food shortages, and infectious diseases are set to worsen as the climate shifts.
An increasing number of people are dying, falling ill, or suffering economic hardship as a result of climate impacts. In 2023—one of the hottest years on record—approximately 710,000 deaths were linked to extreme heat. More than 70 percent of these are attributed to human-caused climate change. According to researchers behind a new report, this figure exceeds the number of deaths caused by malaria or HIV.
"The climate crisis is having serious, harmful consequences for human health—from deadly heatwaves and floods to food insecurity, pollution, and disease," says UN climate chief Simon Stiell in a press statement.
Health risks resulting from global warming have accelerated over the past decade. This is according to a report from the *Lancet Countdown* initiative, published ahead of the UN climate summit, COP31.
Costly for societies
The report, produced in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), shows that heat-related deaths have increased by nearly 36 percent globally since 2016. Beyond the strain that heat places on the heart and other organs, many diseases spread more easily in a changing climate. Illnesses such as dengue fever and West Nile fever are on the rise, spreading to new parts of the world as the climate shifts.
Furthermore, in 2025, more than half of the world’s land area experienced extreme drought for at least one month—a situation with major consequences for factors such as groundwater levels and crop yields. This poses serious threats to drinking water and food supplies, which in turn creates health risks.
“Not a gradual deterioration”
Since over 80 percent of the energy we use still comes from fossil sources, these threats are set to intensify, according to the report. The authors call for health to be placed at the heart of all climate-related decision-making, and for the strengthening of international aid and climate adaptation efforts.
“This is not a gradual deterioration, but a shift that must be recognized for what it truly is: a global health emergency,” says Marina Romanello, a researcher at University College London who led the work on the *Lancet Countdown*.
Facts
The Lancet Countdown
The *Lancet Countdown* is an international research collaboration that tracks and analyzes the link between climate change and human health. It is led by researchers from University College London (UCL) and involves more than 300 scientists from over 100 institutions worldwide. The reports are produced in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), and this is the tenth in the series.
The report addresses several areas in which climate change affects our health:
Risks to vulnerable groups affected by heatwaves
Reduced capacity for physical activity during hot weather
Reduced capacity to work during hot weather
High nighttime temperatures and sleep deprivation
An increase in heat-related deaths
Increased risk of wildfires, drought, torrential rain, and air pollution resulting from storms
Higher incidence of infectious diseases, waterborne diseases, and vector-borne diseases (spread by, for example, mosquitoes)
Food insecurity and famine
Source: Lancet Countdown
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