Over 700 thousand heat-related deaths in 2023, "The climate emergency is growing"

The data from the report

Excessive heat is just one of the effects of climate change. In 2025, almost 51.8% of the land surface was affected by extreme drought for at least one month (second highest figure ever recorded after 2023). Since 2016, the affected area has grown at a rate of more than 700% compared to the decade 2006-2015.

80% of the planet faces imbalances in water resources, with 43% of the Earth's surface experiencing long-term drying, while 37% have experienced excessive increases in water storage that could threaten food and sanitation security. At the same time, very high intensity rainfall affected almost 17.2% of the emerged land per year in the period 2016-2025, increasing the risk of floods and diseases whose transmission is facilitated by water.

Faced with a rapidly deteriorating clinical and environmental picture, the authors of the report call for climate change to be formally recognized and addressed as a global health emergency and for health protection to be placed at the center of every political and economic decision on climate issues.

"These numbers indicate a clear emergency - said Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown -. The growth rate of many climate-related health threats is accelerating; heat-related deaths attributable to climate change have reached a record level and the economic impact is hitting the most vulnerable sectors and communities particularly hard. The risks become even more serious when we consider how different threats interact and add to each other", she continued.

We are "at a change of pace that must be recognized for what it is: a global health emergency", he concluded.