The 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels
The seventh Lancet Countdown report represents the work of 99 experts from 51 institutions, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and is led by University College London. It publishes ahead of the 27th UN Conference of the Parties (COP27) [2], presenting 43 indicators that include new and improved metrics that monitor the impact of extreme temperature on health and well-being.
The report finds that vulnerable populations are most at risk from extreme heat. Children under one year old experienced collectively 600 million more days of heatwaves (4.4 more days per child), and adults over 65 years 3.1 billion more days (3.2 more days per person), in 2012–2021, compared to 1986–2005. Heat related deaths increased by 68% between 2017-2021, compared to 2000-2004; while human exposure to days of very-high or extremely-high fire danger increased in 61% of countries from 2001–2004 to 2018–2021. Heat exposure led to 470 billion potential labour hours lost globally in 2021 with income losses equivalent to substantial proportions of countries’ GDP, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries (5.6% in low- to middle- income countries) and worsening the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
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