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710,000 deaths in a single year: what the new climate and health report says

Qurexa Editorial Team30 October 20267 min read 0 0
710,000 deaths in a single year: what the new climate and health report says

What happened

On 28 October 2026, the World Health Organization published a summary of the latest Lancet Countdown report on health and climate change. The Lancet Countdown is not a one-off study. It is an annual stocktake. Each year it tracks a fixed set of measures and reports whether they are getting better or worse. This is the tenth report in the series. The scale of it is worth noting. It tracks 54 separate indicators linking climate and health. It was written by 146 researchers from more than 100 institutions in over 30 countries. The work is led by University College London and developed with the WHO. The headline finding is that the health harms of climate change are speeding up. The report found that the average number of heat-related deaths each year rose by nearly 36% in the years after the Paris Agreement came into force, compared with the decade before it. It also put a figure on the worst year measured. In 2023, heat was linked to a record 710,000 deaths worldwide. More than 70% of that burden is attributed to human-caused climate change. The report was released ahead of COP31, the next United Nations climate conference.

Why this matters

Most reporting on climate change is about weather, or ice, or emissions targets. This report is about people being admitted to hospital and people dying. Heat is not an equal risk. It falls hardest on older people, on people with heart or lung conditions, on people with kidney problems, on pregnant women, on babies, and on anyone who cannot easily cool down or move around. That list describes a lot of the people we deliver medicines to. The UK is not exempt from this. We are not the hottest country in the report, but British homes are built to keep heat in, not let it out. Many have no way of cooling a bedroom. The people most at risk are often the least able to go somewhere cooler. The report also found that drought is getting worse and that exposure to extreme water events is increasing. Both of those affect health indirectly, through food, through clean water and through displacement. And heat has an economic cost. The report found that heat exposure is causing substantial losses, largely through hours of work that cannot be done safely.

What the evidence actually says

It is worth being precise about what the headline numbers mean. 'Heat-related deaths' does not usually mean someone collapsed in the sun. It is an estimate produced by comparing deaths during hot periods with the deaths you would expect at normal temperatures. Most of those deaths are people whose existing heart, lung or kidney condition was pushed over the edge by the heat. That is why the figure is an attribution, not a count of death certificates. That does not make it soft. It is a standard method in public health, and it is how we measure the toll of cold winters too. But it is an estimate, and estimates carry uncertainty. The 36% figure is also a comparison between two periods, not a single year's jump. The report is not all bad news, and it is fair to say so. Global investment in clean energy reached a record 2.1 trillion US dollars in 2025. Countries that have cut air pollution from fossil fuels are estimated to be preventing thousands of early deaths every year. More countries now have national health adaptation plans and early warning systems that take the weather forecast into account. Dr Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, who heads the WHO's unit on climate change, air quality, energy and health, said that climate change 'is already harming health in every region of the world', and argued that climate action should be treated as a health intervention. The report's authors recommend recognising climate change formally as a global health emergency, building health into climate and financing decisions, cutting emissions faster, and investing more in making health systems resilient.

Qurexa perspective

There is one part of this that sits squarely in our world, and it is a dull, practical one: medicines do not like heat. Most medicines are meant to be stored below 25°C. Some, including insulin and certain injections, need a fridge. During a hot spell, a south-facing windowsill, a car glovebox or a porch can go well past that. A medicine that has been cooked is not always obviously spoiled. There is a second point. Several very common medicines make heat harder to handle. Water tablets, some blood pressure medicines, some antidepressants and some medicines for mental health conditions can affect how much you sweat, how much fluid you hold, or how well your body regulates its temperature. That is not a reason to stop taking them. It is a reason to be more careful in hot weather, and to know that your risk is not the same as everyone else's. We would rather say this plainly than imply that a delivery service solves a global problem. It does not. What it does do, in a heatwave, is mean that someone who should not be walking to a pharmacy in 32°C does not have to.

Practical advice

Store medicines somewhere cool, dark and dry. A bedroom drawer is usually better than a kitchen cupboard above the kettle or a bathroom cabinet. Check the label for anything that says it needs a fridge. Never leave medicines in a parked car, even for a short trip. If you take water tablets, blood pressure medicine, antidepressants or medicine for a mental health condition, ask your pharmacist how hot weather affects you specifically. It takes two minutes and the answer is different for different medicines. Do not stop or change a dose on your own. In hot weather, keep curtains closed on the sunny side during the day and open windows when the air outside is cooler, usually overnight and early morning. Drink water before you feel thirsty. Check on older neighbours and anyone living alone during a heatwave. Heat illness often starts with confusion or unusual tiredness rather than obvious collapse. Sign up for heat health alerts if you or someone you care for is at higher risk, so you get warning rather than a surprise.

What to know

The 2026 Lancet Countdown, the tenth in the series, finds that the health effects of climate change are accelerating. Average annual heat-related deaths rose by nearly 36% in the years after the Paris Agreement took effect compared with the decade before. In 2023, heat was linked to a record 710,000 deaths worldwide, with more than 70% of that attributed to human-caused climate change. The report tracks 54 indicators and involved 146 researchers across more than 30 countries, led by University College London with the WHO. There is progress too: record clean energy investment of 2.1 trillion US dollars in 2025, and growing use of health adaptation plans and early warning systems. For most readers in the UK, the useful takeaway is small and specific. Know whether your medicines need to be kept cool. Know whether your medicines change how your body handles heat. Ask your pharmacist, rather than guessing. Sources: World Health Organization, 'Climate change is a growing health emergency, Lancet Countdown warns', 28 October 2026, https://www.who.int/news/item/28-10-2026-climate-change-is-a-growing-health-emergency--lancet-countdown-warns ; The Lancet, 'The 2026 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: a decade of escalating health harms and a decisive moment for all', 28 October 2026, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673626017794 ; The Lancet Public Health, 'The 2026 Europe report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change', 2026, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(26)00025-3/fulltext This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.

#climate and health#heatwaves#WHO#Lancet#public health#older people

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