Rapid climate action is needed: comparing heat vs. COVID-19-related mortality

Rapid climate action is needed: comparing heat vs. COVID-19-related mortality

Abstract The impacts of climate change on human health are often underestimated or perceived to be in a distant future. Here, we present the projected impacts of climate change in the context of COVID-19, a recent human health catastrophe. We compared projected heat mortality with COVID-19 deaths in...

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Main Authors: Fulden Batibeniz, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Srinidhi Jha, Andreia Ribeiro, Laura Suarez Gutierrez, Christoph C. Raible, Avni Malhotra, Ben Armstrong, Michelle L. Bell, Eric Lavigne, Antonio Gasparrini, Yuming Guo, Masahiro Hashizume, Pierre Masselot, Susana Pereira da Silva, Dominic Royé, Francesco Sera, Shilu Tong, Aleš Urban, Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-82788-8
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Summary:Abstract The impacts of climate change on human health are often underestimated or perceived to be in a distant future. Here, we present the projected impacts of climate change in the context of COVID-19, a recent human health catastrophe. We compared projected heat mortality with COVID-19 deaths in 38 cities worldwide and found that in half of these cities, heat-related deaths could exceed annual COVID-19 deaths in less than ten years (at + 3.0 °C increase in global warming relative to preindustrial). In seven of these cities, heat mortality could exceed COVID-19 deaths in less than five years. Our results underscore the crucial need for climate action and for the integration of climate change into public health discourse and policy.
ISSN:2045-2322

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