ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its global partners have called upon governments to recognise public health as the most powerful driver behind climate action since, according to a new report, “continued overreliance on fossil fuels” and failure to “adapt to a heating world” are already having a devastating toll on human health.
The report, titled “Countdown on Health and Climate Change” and prepared by the journal Lancet, said 12 of the 20 key indicators tracking health threats have reached record levels. “This shows that climate inaction is costing lives, straining health systems and undermining economies.”
The report was prepared in collaboration with the WHO.
“The climate crisis is a health crisis. Every fraction of a degree of warming costs lives and livelihoods,” said Dr Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director General for Health Promotion at WHO.
“This report, produced with WHO as a strategic partner, makes clear that climate inaction is now killing people in all countries. However, climate action is also the greatest health opportunity of our time.
“Cleaner air, healthier diets, and resilient health systems can save millions of lives now and protect current and future generations,” the WHO official said.
Key findings
The report claimed that the rate of heat-related mortality had risen 23 per cent since the 1990s, pushing total heat-related deaths to an average 546,000 deaths per year. Last year, the average person was exposed to 16 days of dangerous heat that would not have been possible without climate change. Infants and older adults faced, on an average, over 20 heatwave days per person _ a four-fold increase over the last 20 years.
In 2023, the number of people who faced “moderate or severe food insecurity” was 124 million more than during the previous year.
Exposure to heat caused a loss of 640 billion potential labour hours last year, with productivity losses equivalent to $ 1.09 trillion. The cost of heat-related deaths among older adults reached $261bn.
“Governments spent $956bn on net fossil fuel subsidies in 2023, more than triple the annual amount pledged to support climate-vulnerable countries. Fifteen countries spent more on subsidising fossil fuels than on their entire national health budgets,” the Lancet report claimed.
On an upbeat note, it stated that 160,000 premature deaths were avoided every year between 2010 and 2022 thanks to reduced coal-derived outdoor air pollution alone.
Renewable energy generation reached a record 12pc of global electricity, creating 16 million jobs worldwide. Two-thirds of medical students received education in climate and health last year.
“We already have the solutions at hand to avoid a climate catastrophe – and communities and local governments around the world are proving that progress is possible. From clean energy growth to city adaptation, action is underway and delivering real health benefits, but we must keep up the momentum,” said Dr Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown at University College London.
“Rapidly phasing out fossil fuels in favour of clean renewable energy and efficient energy use remain the most powerful lever to slow climate change and protect lives. At the same time, shifting to healthier, climate-friendly diets and more sustainable agricultural systems would massively cut pollution, greenhouse gases and deforestation, potentially saving over ten million lives a year.”
Cities and communities lead the way
While some governments have slowed their climate commitments, the report shows that cities, communities and the health sector are leading the way.
Nearly all reporting cities (834 of 858) have completed or plan to complete climate risk assessments. The energy transition is delivering cleaner air, healthier jobs, measurable economic growth and inward investment.
The health sector itself has shown impressive climate leadership, with health-related greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions falling 16pc globally between 2021 and 2022. It led to improvement in care quality.
Data submitted by WHO illustrate that a growing number of health systems are assessing risks and preparing for a “dangerous future”.
Fifty-eight per cent of member states have completed a health “vulnerability and adaptation assessment” and 60pc have completed a “health national adaptation plan”.
Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2025
