Britain is increasingly exposed to health-threatening extreme heat

People in Britain are increasingly exposed to dangerous extreme heat as global health threats from climate change reach record-breaking levels, experts warn.

A report from the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change shows that there is an increased risk of heat-related illness and death in Britain, with an average of nine additional deaths per 100,000 people over the period 2013-2022.

In 2023, people around the world were exposed to an average of 50 more days of health-threatening temperatures than would be expected without climate change. Extreme drought affected 48% of the global land area, the report also shows.

Dr. Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown at University College London, said the findings were the most worrying in the report’s eight years of existence.

She said: “No individual or economy on this planet is immune to the health threats of climate change.

“The relentless expansion of fossil fuels and record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions are exacerbating these dangerous health consequences, threatening to reverse the limited progress made to date and put a healthy future further out of reach.”

The report shows that ten of the fifteen indicators that map the health threats from climate change have reached new record levels.

The authors accuse governments and companies of continuing to fan the flames by investing in fossil fuels, saying the money spent on financing oil, gas and coal should be used to shift towards clean economies.

The higher frequency of heat waves and droughts around the world was related to 151 million more people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity than each year between 1981 and 2010.

At the same time, 61% of the world’s land area saw an increase in extreme rainfall over the past decade, increasing the risk of flooding, infectious diseases and water pollution, while the risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue has increased.

The report also states that unhealthy and unsustainable diets contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and harm health, and that a shift to more balanced diets would reduce deaths and tackle climate change.

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