Climate change is driving a surge in heat-related deaths and economic losses globally, with health harms accelerating faster than international responses, according to a new report led by University College London in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change found that heat was linked to over 540,000 deaths annually from 2016 through 2023, with 68% of those fatalities attributable to climate change. In 2023 alone, heat-related deaths reached a record 710,000, exceeding deaths from malaria or HIV. The report also estimates nearly 3 million deaths worldwide have been connected to climate change between 2016 and 2023.
The economic impact of extreme heat is also significant, with the world losing over a trillion dollars in potential income in 2025, the third consecutive year of such losses. Researchers found that extreme drought affected more than half of the world’s land for at least a month in 2025, an increase of approximately 700% compared to the decade before the 2015 Paris Agreement. While clean energy funding reached a record high in 2025, nearly doubling fossil fuel investment, fossil fuels still account for over 80% of global energy production.
The report highlights a growing disparity in economic impact, with vulnerable economies in Africa and Southeast Asia experiencing losses reaching 5% of GDP due to heat, compared to 0.5% in more developed economies. Experts are urging that climate change be officially declared a global health emergency, emphasizing the need to prioritize human health in climate action and resource allocation. The findings were published ahead of the UN COP31 climate conference and are based on analysis of 54 indicators across more than 30 countries.
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