<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/30/record-levels-of-heat-related-deaths-in-2023-due-to-climate-crisis-report-finds>
"Heat-related deaths, food insecurity and the spread of infectious diseases
caused by the climate crisis have reached record levels, according to a
landmark report.
The
Lancet Countdown’s ninth report on health and the climate breakdown
reveals that people across the world face unprecedented threats to their health
from the rapidly changing climate.
“This year’s stocktake of the imminent health threats of climate inaction
reveals the most concerning findings yet,” warned Dr Marina Romanello,
executive director of the
Lancet Countdown at University College London.
“Once again, last year broke climate change records with extreme heatwaves,
deadly weather events, and devastating wildfires affecting people around the
world. No individual or economy on the planet is immune [to] the health threats
of climate change.
“The relentless expansion of fossil fuels and record-breaking greenhouse gas
emissions compounds these dangerous health impacts, and is threatening to
reverse the limited progress made so far and put a healthy future further out
of reach.”
The report finds that in 2023, extreme drought lasting at least one month
affected 48% of the global land area, while people had to cope with an
unprecedented 50 more days of health-threatening temperatures than would have
been expected without the climate crisis. As a result, 151 million more people
faced moderate or severe food insecurity, risking malnutrition and other harm
to their health.
Heat related deaths among the over-65s rocketed by 167% in 2023, compared with
the 1990s. Without the climate crisis, an ageing global population means such
deaths would have increased, but only by 65%. High temperatures also led to a
record 6% more hours of lost sleep in 2023 than the 1986–2005 average. Poor
sleep has a profound negative effect on physical and mental health.
Hotter and drier weather saw greater numbers of sand and dust storms, which
contributed to a 31% increase in the number of people exposed to dangerously
high particulate matter concentrations, while life-threatening diseases such as
dengue, malaria and West Nile virus continue to spread into new areas as a
result of higher temperatures.
But despite this, “governments and companies continue to invest in fossil
fuels, resulting in all-time high greenhouse gas emissions and staggering tree
loss, reducing the survival chances of people all around the globe”, the
authors found."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
