Climate change can result in over 90 lakh deaths each year till end of century, says WHO report

There could be 2.5 lakh additional deaths per year by end of 2030 and over 90 lakh deaths each year by the end of the century due to climate change, said the latest World Health Statistics 2023 report by the World Health Organization.

Additional deaths, or excess deaths, is the divergence between all-cause deaths reported in a particular year and the expected fatalities under normal conditions.

The estimates have been drawn up by leading researchers and working group II of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change based on current evidence and global emissions.

This is the first time the World Health Statistics has included a chapter on climate change and its health impact.

The report stated that up to 360 crore people globally are exposed to the impacts of climate change with low and middle income countries, such as India, facing greater consequences despite contributing the least to the global emissions.

Within a country too, the report said, the poor, the elderly, women, children, indigenous people, outdoor workers and those with pre-existing medical conditions are at higher risk than others.

The report stated that in 2014, a group of researchers were tasked to estimate deaths due to climate change. This group estimated that climate-related deaths due to...

Read more