Around the globe, climate change is causing human health threats beyond anything seen previously, according to The Lancet Countdown. Deadly heat waves, droughts, storms and wildfires are happening with increasing regularity.

The latest 2024 Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change offers some of the most dire predictions yet on human health and climate. The October report, which is an annual assessment of progress toward climate goals set at the 2016 Paris agreement, notes that drought impacted nearly half of Earth’s land mass in 2023, and people globally have endured about 50 more days of extreme heat.

The findings demonstrate the need for public health involvement in climate solutions, as 10 of 15 indicators the report commission tracks reached record-breaking levels in 2023.

Worldwide, people are increasingly facing risks from devastating extreme weather events. These events can cause increases in the risk of flooding, spread of infectious diseases and water contamination, the report said. In 2013, health complications from extreme heat for people over age 65 increased 167%, compared to 1990s rates.

The increased risks of heat and droughts were associated with over 150 million people worldwide experiencing food insecurity than annually between 1981 and 2010.

The report also focuses on financial impacts of climate change, including its economic costs and need to divert fossil fuel subsidies to health interventions.

According to the report, the average annual economic losses resulting from extreme weather events increased by 23% from the early 2010s to the early 2020s. The rise represents a value of $227 billion, which exceeds the gross domestic product of roughly 60% of the world’s economies.

“Scientists have warned for decades that the less we do to curb carbon emissions, the more expensive the climate crisis will get,” said Katherine Catalano, MS, deputy director of APHA’s Center for Climate, Health and Equity. “We’re seeing that today in the health care, infrastructure and disaster recovery costs we’re incurring here in the U.S., but also in the increasing need for investments in resilience abroad.”

Meanwhile, global emissions are too high to meet the Paris agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-indutrial levels by 2100, the report said. If climate policies and actions do not change, the world is on track to warm 2.7 degrees Celsius, which could have catastrophic results.

At the U.N. Climate Change Conference in November, nearly 200 countries discussed how to meet the Paris agreement’s goals. The most significant outcome of COP29 was an agreement to triple climate funds being sent to developing countries to protect populations from extreme weather. Negotiators agreed to provide $300 billion annually by 2035. While a significant increase, some experts say developing countries need at least $1 trillion annually to cope with climate change effects.

Extreme weather and climate-related health impacts are also affecting work productivity, according to the countdown report. In 2023, heat exposure led to a record loss of 512 billion possible work hours — time worth $835 billion in potential income losses.

Financial resources for climate change solutions and carbon emissions reduction are available, the report said, but there has been little investment. Instead, governments and companies around the world are spending trillions of dollars on subsidies for the fossil fuel industry and other investments that exacerbate the health impacts of climate change. This money could be redirected and used for clean, renewable energy and other measures that benefit health and livelihoods.

Photo caption: A wildfire prompted by extreme temperatures burned in Los Angeles and Ventura counties in California in 2018, destroying over 1,600 structures and killing three people. (Photo by Salameh Dibaei, courtesy iStockphoto)