Climate researchers call for global health emergency as heat deaths mount

Researchers behind the 2026 Lancet Countdown are calling for climate change to be declared a global health emergency as heat deaths and other health harms rise worldwide, DW reported on October 28. They want a new international mechanism to help countries coordinate a sustained response.

The call comes from nearly 150 researchers in more than 30 countries, according to DW. The Lancet Countdown says its annual report was produced by 146 researchers from more than 100 institutions, led by University College London in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The proposal is a call by researchers; the WHO and UN have not declared such an emergency.

What the researchers want WHO and the UN to do

The existing WHO Public Health Emergency of International Concern mechanism was built for shorter emergencies, including outbreaks such as COVID-19 and mpox, DW reported. The researchers argue that climate change requires sustained action across health and other sectors. Romanello said the aim was a cohesive response that builds countries’ capacity to avoid further emergencies.

Heat deaths and drought behind the call

The Lancet Countdown estimates that heat was linked to an average 540,800 deaths a year from 2016 through 2023, including 369,900 a year attributed to human-caused climate change. That attributed share was 68%, compared with 55% in 2006–2015. For 2023 alone, it estimates 710,000 heat-related deaths, 71.5% of them attributable to climate change. These are estimates of heat-related mortality and attribution, rather than individually verified causes of death.

Since 2016, the area affected by extreme drought has grown more than 700% faster than it did in 2006–2015, according to the Lancet Countdown figures reported by DW. DW also reported that heat waves and droughts pushed nearly 128 million more people into food insecurity in 2024 than the 1981–2010 average. The report links those pressures to risks for food and water supplies and disease.

DW reported the Lancet Countdown’s estimate that heat cost $1.07 trillion in lost potential income in 2025. Alan Dangour, director of climate and health at Wellcome Trust, which funded the report, urged governments to judge climate responses by lives saved and improved health outcomes. The proposed mechanism would put that health measure alongside the international coordination researchers seek.