Inaction on climate change causes millions of preventable deaths

Climate change is hitting the health of people around the world and political inaction causes “millions” of preventable deaths each year, an international team of experts reported on Wednesday.

“Climate change threatens health at an unprecedented level,” warned the Lancet Countdown, a report produced each year by a hundred international researchers coordinated by University College London and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The message follows on from previous editions as global average temperatures continue to rise, a trend driven by the use of fossil fuels, which reached a new record in 2024.

The report, released weeks before the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, lists the health consequences of warming: heatwaves, droughts, air pollution, wildfires and more.

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