{"id":232158,"date":"2025-10-29T14:15:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T14:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/232158\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T14:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T14:15:12","slug":"how-climate-change-is-making-us-sick-dw-10-29-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/232158\/","title":{"rendered":"How climate change is making us sick \u2013 DW \u2013 10\/29\/2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

From heart attacks and heat exhaustion<\/a> to mental health problems and the spreading of tropical diseases, the climate crisis<\/a> is threatening more and more people worldwide, according to a report published Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 128 leading scientists behind the Lancet<\/a> Countdown Report warn that the consequences of rising global temperatures have never been more threatening to human health.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

“This year’s health stocktake paints a bleak and undeniable picture of the devastating health harms reaching all corners of the world,” said Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown, an independent international research collaboration,\u00a0at University College London.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heat-related deaths have surged 23% since the 1990s, according to the analysis, with rising temperatures claiming over half a million lives every year. Wildfire smoke<\/a> was linked to a record 154,000 deaths in 2024, while air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels kills 2.5 million every year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SpanishSmoke from wildfires harms the lungs, heart and even babies in the wombImage: Cesar Manso\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Health risks increased in last year\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We’re seeing millions of deaths that are occurring needlessly every year because of our persistent fossil fuel dependence<\/a>, because of our delay in mitigating climate change and our delays in adaptation to the climate change that cannot be avoided,”\u00a0said Romanello.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Lancet Countdown report is considered to be a renowned indicator of the scientific links between health and global warming. These are becoming more pronounced as climate change, driven\u00a0by the burning of coal, oil and gas, continues to wreak havoc across the planet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year was the warmest on record and saw CO2 levels in the atmosphere jump to new highs<\/a>. This resulted in the average person experiencing a record extra 16 health-threatening hot days due to climate change. This increased to 20 additional heat wave days on average for the most vulnerable groups in society, such as babies and those over 65.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the report, 13 out of 20 indicators that represent human health risks have increased significantly in the past year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The most worrying aspect is that almost all indicators are going in the wrong direction, explained Romanello.<\/p>\n

\"ChinaWhile renewables are booming authors say the world is still too reliant on fossil fuelsImage: Ng Han Guan\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/p>\n

Health and economic costs<\/p>\n

Climate change is supercharging extreme weather<\/a>\u00a0events that are becoming more frequent and intense around the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heat waves \u2014 the most deadly form of extreme weather \u2014\u00a0 can overheat the body, straining vital organs and making it difficult to sleep. Heavy flooding, such as that witnessed in Pakistan this year<\/a>, can lead to contaminated drinking water and the spread of infections, while droughts are exacerbating malnutrition and hunger as crops fail. Smoke from wildfires \u2014 which in 2024 burned an area of land larger than India \u2014 harms the lungs, heart and even babies in the womb.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"FloodingInfections can spread in the aftermath of disasters such as extreme floodingImage: SHAHID SAEED MIRZA\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of weather-related disasters, disrupted power and damaged infrastructure can also hinder access to medical care and supplies. According to Romanello, most of the people affected by extreme weather worldwide don’t have health insurance, which leaves them even more vulnerable when it comes to health risks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

These risks are not only costing human lives, they\u00a0also have\u00a0an economic impact.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Water or food shortages and catastrophic sanitary conditions following disasters costs hundreds of billions of US dollars annually. Extreme heat alone<\/a> is estimated to have cost more than one trillion US dollars in 2024 \u2014 roughly 1% of global economic output \u2014 due to labor losses from illness and absenteeism.<\/p>\n

Dengue and tropical diseases are spreading\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mosquitoes, ticks, and sand flies \u2014 some of which transmit deadly infectious diseases<\/a> \u2014 are also spreading to more regions as temperatures rise.<\/p>\n

Last week, mosquitoes were documented for the first time ever on the northern European island of Iceland, which researchers have linked to climate change. As warmer temperatures open up new habitats for insects, the number of people infected with dengue, malaria,<\/a> leishmaniasis, and other diseases is increasing worldwide.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"45Heat waves are the most deadly form of extreme weather Image: Lionel Bonaventure\/AFP<\/p>\n

In 2024, there was a record number of dengue infections worldwide, with more than 7.6 million cases. “We know that climate change is fueling at least some of that spread,”\u00a0says Romanello.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even if not all of these infections are fatal, those who fall ill are often unable to work for weeks, with major economic consequences.<\/p>\n

According to the report, the global average transmission potential of dengue<\/a> has risen 49% since the 1950s.<\/p>\n

Mental health also impacted<\/p>\n

Climate change is also increasing the risk of mental illness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

When someone experiences an extreme weather event such as a forest fire, hurricane, monsoon, typhoon or extreme flooding, it can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, said Jenni Miller, executive director from Global Climate and Health Alliance, a US non-governmental organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, poor harvests due to droughts<\/a>, water shortages,<\/a> or a loss of livelihood can cause anxiety and lead directly or indirectly to mental health problems. This is exacerbated by lack of sleep due to excessively hot nights, according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"HeatwaveAuthors say health systems need to be better equipped to deal with climate changeImage: Daniel Dal Zennaro\/dpaweb\/dpa\/picture-alliance<\/p>\n

Preventing further illness and death\u00a0<\/p>\n

The authors of the report call for three key measures in mitigating the health consequences of the climate crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First, renewable energy<\/a> must be expanded to curb rising global temperatures. Clean\u00a0energy, which has boomed in recent years<\/a>, has helped reduce air pollution and prevent over 160,000 deaths between 2010-2022, according to Romanello.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Measures to adapt to climate change, such as making residential buildings and public infrastructure fit for extreme weather conditions, must now also be accelerated. And lastly, scientists say global healthcare systems urgently need to be adapted and equipped to face the additional challenges climate change presents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This article was originally written in German.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From heart attacks and heat exhaustion to mental health problems and the spreading of tropical diseases, the climate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232159,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-232158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}