PEOPLE in Britain are increasingly exposed to dangerous extreme heat as global health threats of climate change reach record-breaking levels, experts have warned.
The Lancet’s annual countdown report on health and climate change, published today, reveals that worldwide, people faced an average of 50 extra days of dangerously high temperatures due to climate change last year, while extreme drought affected 48 per cent of land areas.
Frequent heatwaves and droughts left 151 million more people food insecure compared with 1981-2010, the report found.
More than 60 per cent of the world also saw more extreme rainfall over the last decade, raising risks of flooding, infectious disease, and water contamination.
In Britain, rising extreme heat caused a yearly average of nine extra deaths per 100,000 people between 2013 and 2022.
About 8.5 million labour hours were lost to extreme heat in 2023, up 166 per cent from the 1990s average, with construction workers hardest hit, the report warned.
Air pollution from fossil fuels contributed to 29,500 deaths in Britain in 2021, costing £70 billion in early deaths.
The report’s authors accuse governments and businesses of continuing to stoke the fire by investing in fossil fuels; they say the trillions of pounds spent funding oil, gas and coal should be redirected to the shift into clean economies.
Dr Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet countdown at University College London, said the findings were the most concerning in the eight years of the report.
“No individual or economy on the planet is immune from the health threats of climate change,” she said.
“The relentless expansion of fossil fuels and record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions compounds these dangerous health impacts and is threatening to reverse the limited progress made so far and put a healthy future further out of reach.
“Despite this threat, we see financial resources continue to be invested in the very things that undermine our health.
“Repurposing the trillions of dollars being invested in, or subsidising, the fossil fuel industry every year would provide the opportunity to deliver a fair, equitable transition to clean energy and energy efficiency, and a healthier future, ultimately benefiting the global economy.”
Extinction Rebellion spokeswoman Katie Burrell said: “The Lancet’s report makes it clear that the coal, oil and gas projects that are heating up our already overheated planet are having a deadly impact on our health.
“That’s why Extinction Rebellion has been on the streets this week calling on insurance companies to commit to steering clear of new coal, oil and gas businesses. No insurance means Shell, BP and all the other companies can’t just keep blundering through with business as usual, which we know is disastrous.
“As ever, the experts are clear. What we need is an immediate shift towards zero emissions and clean energy. From floods to food shortages, the climate crisis is absolutely a health crisis and affects the poorest and least represented first. We need system change and business change to fix this mess.”
