On July 25, 2024, the secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, released a “Call to Action on Extreme Heat,” emphasizing the need to care for particularly vulnerable populations, protect outdoor workers, use data and science to increase resilience, and limit the global average surface temperature to 1.5° Celsius above preindustrial temperatures.
By any metric, the risks I highlighted in 2022 continue to grow. Heat waves are increasing in frequency, intensity, and duration, affecting billions of people. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 175,000 Europeans die annually from heat-related causes. Moreover, the UN estimates that approximately 489,000 heat-related deaths occurred worldwide each year between 2000 and 2019, and as I noted in my June 2022 commentary, nearly 40% of these are attributable to climate change. With more than 70% of the global workforce at high risk of extreme heat, there are now 22.85 million heat-related injuries and 18,970 heat-related deaths every year. This dramatic increase in incidence is affecting the functioning of health systems worldwide.
Efforts to reduce preventable heat-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths since 2022 include heat wave early warning and response systems, with support from the more than $3 billion in investment through the World Meteorological Organization’s Early Warnings for All initiative. The initiative is developing and deploying multi-hazard early warning systems in the 50% of low- and middle-income countries without one. The WHO estimates that scaling up these systems in 57 countries has the potential to save up to 100,000 lives annually. The pillars of this initiative include disaster risk knowledge; detection, observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting; warning dissemination and communication; and preparedness and response capabilities. Hence, the WHO, the WMO, and other organizations are also co-sponsoring the Global Heat Health Information Network, which aims to share knowledge and solutions for protecting vulnerable people and communities from extreme heat worldwide.
Much remains to be done, which is why the secretary-general called for a strategy to mobilize governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders to focus more on preventing and reducing heat risk and its worst impacts. Doing so is critical for protecting our family, friends, and colleagues – and ourselves. – Kristie L. Ebi, July 2024
SEATTLE – Although nearly all heat-related deaths are preventable, heatwaves kill thousands of people worldwide every year. At this very moment, an extreme heatwave in India and Pakistan, affecting about one billion people, is “testing the limits of human survivability,” warns Chandni Singh, a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report. In April, the average maximum temperature for northwest and central India was the highest in 122 years.
By any metric, the risks I highlighted in 2022 continue to grow. Heat waves are increasing in frequency, intensity, and duration, affecting billions of people. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 175,000 Europeans die annually from heat-related causes. Moreover, the UN estimates that approximately 489,000 heat-related deaths occurred worldwide each year between 2000 and 2019, and as I noted in my June 2022 commentary, nearly 40% of these are attributable to climate change. With more than 70% of the global workforce at high risk of extreme heat, there are now 22.85 million heat-related injuries and 18,970 heat-related deaths every year. This dramatic increase in incidence is affecting the functioning of health systems worldwide.
Efforts to reduce preventable heat-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths since 2022 include heat wave early warning and response systems, with support from the more than $3 billion in investment through the World Meteorological Organization’s Early Warnings for All initiative. The initiative is developing and deploying multi-hazard early warning systems in the 50% of low- and middle-income countries without one. The WHO estimates that scaling up these systems in 57 countries has the potential to save up to 100,000 lives annually. The pillars of this initiative include disaster risk knowledge; detection, observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting; warning dissemination and communication; and preparedness and response capabilities. Hence, the WHO, the WMO, and other organizations are also co-sponsoring the Global Heat Health Information Network, which aims to share knowledge and solutions for protecting vulnerable people and communities from extreme heat worldwide.
Much remains to be done, which is why the secretary-general called for a strategy to mobilize governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders to focus more on preventing and reducing heat risk and its worst impacts. Doing so is critical for protecting our family, friends, and colleagues – and ourselves. – Kristie L. Ebi, July 2024
SEATTLE – Although nearly all heat-related deaths are preventable, heatwaves kill thousands of people worldwide every year. At this very moment, an extreme heatwave in India and Pakistan, affecting about one billion people, is “testing the limits of human survivability,” warns Chandni Singh, a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report. In April, the average maximum temperature for northwest and central India was the highest in 122 years.