Climate Change Unleashes Unprecedented Threats to Human Health

The World Meteorological Organization has sounded the alarm, warning that the climate crisis is poised to undo decades of progress towards better health. Governments are woefully unprepared to stop the impending devastation, the organization’s report has found. Despite hot weather causing more deaths than any other type of extreme weather, health experts have access to heat warning services in only half of the affected countries.

Climate change is an unprecedented threat to human health, according to Madeleine Thomson, head of climate impacts and adaptation at the Wellcome charity. Many countries are already struggling to cope with the dangerous repercussions of record-breaking temperatures, yet most are ill-prepared. The report, written by the WMO and more than 30 partner institutions, reveals that heatwaves will continue to grow hotter and longer due to the climate crisis.

The world has already warmed by 1.2C above pre-industrial levels, but the record-breaking temperatures this year have left scientists stunned. Practically the whole planet has experienced heatwaves this year, with the onset of El Niño in 2023 predicted to trigger even more extreme heat in many parts of the world and the ocean. The WMO and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction have launched a push to provide early warning systems for all people on the planet by 2028, but currently, only half of countries say they have adequate multi-hazard early warning systems.

The report also highlights the lack of investment in healthcare as the planet heats up. A mere 0.2% of loans and grants given to climate adaptation projects focus on schemes that identify health as the primary goal, leaving the health sector woefully underprepared to safeguard the most vulnerable. “This leaves the health sector ill-prepared to safeguard the most vulnerable,” the report warns.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, stressed that the climate crisis is a health crisis, driving more severe and unpredictable weather events, fuelling disease outbreaks, and contributing to higher rates of noncommunicable diseases. Working together to make high-quality climate services more accessible to the health sector can help protect the health and wellbeing of people facing the perils of climate change. The clock is ticking, and governments must act swiftly to mitigate the devastating effects of the climate crisis on human health.