Hundreds of thousands of deaths.. Has the climate crisis turned into a global crisis Health Global?

The issue of theclimate crisis has become a daily threat that directly threatens human health and life. It is no longer a complex environmental issue or a discussion taking place only in the corridors of international conferences. With the continued reliance onfossil fuels, and the delayed response to rising temperatures, millions of people around the world are paying the price for this delay in their health and their lives, at a time when Health systems and national economies are weaker and less able to withstand new shocks.

Recent international reports, including the Lancet Countdown Initiative report monitoring the relationship between climate and public health, warn that protecting human health should be the strongest motivation for climate action. The effects of climate change are already real and are becoming more severe year after year, which forces us to reconsider dealing with the climate crisis as a health issue as much as it is an environmental issue. From this standpoint, there is a need to understand how the climate crisis transformed from an environmental challenge into a global health crisis, which is what recent international reports seek to clarify with numbers and facts.

Climate inaction is a direct health factor

A recent report issued by the Lancet Countdown Initiative – aninternational research initiativelaunched to monitor the impact ofclimate change on human health– in partnership withWorld Health Organizationconfirms that slowness and delay in confronting climate change is costing the world human lives. Directly. Most climate-related health indicators have recorded unprecedented levels, a clear indication that rising temperatures and air pollution have become serious factors threatening human health everywhere.

The report indicates that health systems around the world are facing increasing pressure as a result of diseases associated with extreme heat and air pollution, which weakens their ability to provide basic services, especially in countries with limited resources. This bleak picture becomes clearer when looking at the impact of high temperatures on human life.

Extreme heat: the most deadly danger

Heatwaves are the clearest example of how the climate crisis is turning into a public health crisis. Heat-related deaths have increased by about 23% compared to the 1990s, reaching hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. Exposure to high temperatures has become a frequent pattern in people’s lives, with older people, infants and workers being more affected.

The danger of heat extends to the exacerbation of heart and respiratory diseases, and increases pressure on hospitals, making heat waves a health and economic burden at the same time. As temperatures rise, the climate crisis intertwines with food, work and economic challenges.

Overlapping effects on health, economy and food

The repercussions of the climate crisis are evident in a group of direct consequences that affect people’s daily lives, the most prominent of which are:

• Heat-related deaths rise to hundreds of thousands annually, especially among the most vulnerable groups.
• The decline in economic productivity as a result of the loss of hundreds of billions of working hours due to extreme temperatures, with losses exceeding one trillion dollars in one year.
• The circle of food insecurity has expanded, as drought and heat waves have been linked to an increase in the number of people suffering from food shortages in just one year.
• Increasing pressure on health systems that are facing a burden that exceeds their capabilities, especially in low-income countries.

Despite these huge losses, there are still real opportunities to reduce the damage if the course of current policies changes.

Climate action is an opportunity to save lives

Contrary to popular belief, climate action represents a clear health and development opportunity. Data indicate that reducing air pollution resulting from coal alone contributed to avoiding about 160,000 premature deaths annually during the past decade, as a result of improved air quality and lower rates of respiratory and heart diseases.
In the same context, renewable energy has recorded remarkable progress, reaching about 12% of the total global electricity production, and has contributed to providing approximately 16 million job opportunities, which reflects its ability to combine health protection and support economic growth.

On the other hand, the report warns that continuing to direct huge financial resources to support fossil fuels is hindering these gains. The volume of global fossil fuel support reached about $956 billion in one year, which is more than three times the funding allocated to support the countries most affected by climate change.

In a number of countries, spending on fossil fuel subsidies has exceeded total public health budgets, which limits the ability of health systems to confront the repercussions of the climate crisis, and data indicate that redirecting part of these resources towards clean energy and health investments can achieve a dual effect, which is to protect lives and promote the path of sustainable development.

Ultimately, a fundamental fact becomes clear that cannot be ignored, which is that the climate crisis has become a global health crisis that threatens both lives and social and economic systems. Every day that climate action is delayed, the burden of premature deaths increases, the resilience of health systems weakens, and this results in losses that affect millions of people.

On the other hand, transitions towards clean energy and strengthening health infrastructure provide dual opportunities of protecting lives and promoting sustainable development paths. Accordingly,The Earth Guards Foundation believes that the climate-related health crisis is an explicit call to rearrange priorities, reconsider fossil fuel investments, and direct resources towards sustainable strategies that support the stability of societies and achieve development goals.