Report Warns Climate’s Health Toll is Escalating Faster Than Action

WHO:

ABC News - The 2026 Lancet Countdown report was led by University College London in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO); it included 146 researchers from more than 100 institutions in more than 30 countries.

ABC News - Marina Romanello, a University College London professor and executive director of the Lancet Countdown, said climate-related health harms are growing faster than the global response.

Euronews.com - European Commission Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said EU governments would have to identify which authorities are responsible for preparing for climate disasters.

Phys.org - The 2026 Report of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reported that climate-related health risks and harms grew faster in the decade after the Paris Agreement was introduced than in the preceding decade.

WHAT:

ABC News - Heat was linked to an average of more than 540,000 estimated deaths per year from 2016 through 2023; researchers attributed 68% of those deaths to climate change.

ABC News - Heat was linked to an estimated 710,000 deaths in 2023, with more than 71% attributed to climate change. The report said this exceeded deaths from malaria or HIV; nearly 3 million deaths over 2016–2023 could be connected to climate change.

ABC News - Reduced productivity was estimated to cost the world more than $1 trillion in potential income in 2025, marking the third consecutive year losses exceeded $1 trillion.

ABC News - The pace of land affected by extreme drought accelerated about 700% in 2016–2025 compared with the decade before the Paris Agreement. In 2025, more than half of the world’s land experienced at least one month of extreme drought.

ABC News - Land experiencing very extreme rainfall increased from 14.8% in 2006–2015 to 17.2% in 2016–2025.

ABC News - Clean-energy investment rose more than 7% in 2025 to a record $2.1 trillion, 82% more than investment in fossil-fuel energy. Renewables’ share of global electricity generation rose from 5.5% in 2016 to 13.5% in 2023.

ABC News - Cleaner air prevented an estimated 323,000 deaths annually in dozens of countries, although increases elsewhere offset the gains globally. Fossil fuels still supplied over 80% of global energy; associated air pollution caused about 2.7 million deaths worldwide each year.

ABC News - Report authors called for climate change to be treated as a “global health emergency” and proposed six priorities, including WHO recognition and coordination, making health central to climate action, rapid and fair emissions cuts, shared climate-health data, and more grants and low-interest loans from wealthier countries.

Euronews.com - The European Commission plans rules requiring EU countries to identify whether national, regional, or local authorities are accountable for preparing for climate disasters. The rules would also require climate scenarios to inform infrastructure planning.

Euronews.com - The Commission expects Europe to face 2°C of global warming by 2050 and 3°C by 2100, and says Europe is warming about twice as fast as the global average.

Euronews.com - Hoekstra estimated economic damage from extreme weather this summer at more than €100 billion. The Commission expects no new household-support funding under its resilience strategy; it proposes allocating 35% of the EU budget to climate and nature and cites €30 billion from the European Investment Bank for adaptation through 2030.

Euronews.com - About 25% of assets exposed to climate impacts are insured, according to a senior Commission official.

WHERE:

ABC News - The report describes climate-related health and economic impacts globally.

Euronews.com - The proposed preparedness requirements apply to EU member states; the Commission’s warming projections concern Europe.

WHEN:

ABC News - The report compares the periods 2006–2015 and 2016–2025 and includes mortality estimates through 2023.

Euronews.com - The Commission’s projections extend to 2050 and 2100; the European Investment Bank’s €30 billion adaptation financing is through 2030.

WHY:

ABC News - Romanello said climate-related health threats are accelerating and that interacting drought and rainfall extremes make the situation a global health emergency.

Euronews.com - Hoekstra said governments must prepare because the world may temporarily or potentially persistently exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C warming limit, even if emissions-cutting efforts succeed.

HOW:

Euronews.com - The Commission’s proposed rules would let governments choose how to assign responsibility but require them to state who is accountable; climate scenarios would be used in planning roads, bridges, and neighborhoods.

Euronews.com - The Commission plans to work with the insurance sector to address gaps in climate-disaster coverage.

(UPDATED October 28, 2026 02:03 UTC)

A global Lancet Countdown report says climate-related health risks are growing faster than the response, with heat linked to an estimated 710,000 deaths in 2023 and climate change blamed for more than 71% of them. It also found extreme drought has spread far faster than in the decade before the Paris Agreement, while fossil fuels still provide more than 80% of global energy; researchers are calling for climate change to be treated as a global health emergency. Separately, the European Commission plans to require EU countries to identify which authorities are responsible for disaster preparedness and to use climate scenarios in infrastructure planning, as Europe warms about twice as fast as the global average.