Experts warn that people in the UK are increasingly exposed to dangerous extreme heat, as global health threats from climate change reach record levels.

In 2023, around the world, people were exposed to an average of 50 more days of health-threatening temperatures than would be expected without climate change, while extreme drought affected 48% of the global land surface, according to the latest Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report. .

The increased frequency of heat waves and droughts was associated with 151 million more people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity than each year between 1981 and 2010.

At the same time, 61% of the world’s land area experienced an increase in extreme storms in the last decade, increasing the risk of flooding, infectious diseases and water pollution, while the risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue has increased.

In the UK, people are increasingly exposed to health-threatening extreme heat, increasing the risk of heat-related illness and mortality, with nine additional deaths per 100,000 people on average in the period 2013- 2022.

Every baby and adult over 65 years of age was exposed to an average of 6.5 days of heat waves per year between 2014 and 2023, while in 2023 8.5 million potential work hours were lost due to extreme heat, a 166 % higher than the 1990s average, with construction workers being the most affected. warns the report.

The report also warns that the health of people in the UK was being affected by air pollution, with 29,500 deaths in 2021; Fossil fuels contributed to 44% of those cases, and premature deaths cost £70 billion, but moving towards zero emissions and clean energy. could address climate and health problems.

And unhealthy and unsustainable diets are contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and affecting health, but a shift towards more balanced diets would reduce deaths and address climate change, the report argues.

The report concludes that 10 of 15 indicators tracking climate change threats to health have reached new record levels.

The report’s authors accuse governments and companies of continuing to fuel the fire by investing in fossil fuels, and say the trillions of dollars spent financing oil, gas and coal should be redirected to the shift toward clean economies.

Dr Marina Romanello, executive director of Lancet Countdown at University College London, said the findings, published as countries prepare to meet for the next round of UN climate negotiations in fossil fuel-rich Azerbaijan, were the most worrying in the eight years of the report. report.

“Once again, last year broke records for climate change, with extreme heat waves, deadly weather events and devastating wildfires affecting people around the world,” he said.

“No individual or economy on the planet is immune to the health threats posed by climate change.

“The relentless expansion of fossil fuels and record greenhouse gas emissions compound these dangerous health impacts and threaten to reverse the limited progress made so far and put a healthy future even further out of reach.”

Dr. Romanello added: “Despite this threat, we see that financial resources continue to be invested precisely in things that undermine our health.

“Repurposing the trillions of dollars invested in or subsidized by the fossil fuel industry each year would provide the opportunity to achieve a just and equitable transition to clean energy and energy efficiency, and a healthier future, ultimately benefiting the global economy”.