Climate Change Must Be Declared a Global Health Emergency, Warns Lancet Countdown Report

The 2026 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report urges that climate change be formally recognized as a global health emergency, with health considerations central to climate policies, funding, and emissions-reduction strategies. The report, a collaboration of 146 researchers from over 100 institutions, highlights the accelerating climate-related health risks, including extreme heat, drought, and fossil-fuel pollution, which are intensifying faster than mitigation efforts. It notes that heat was associated with an average of 540,800 deaths annually between 2016 and 2023, with climate change responsible for 68% of these deaths.