Climate Adaptation

Extreme Heat Is a Clear and Growing Health Issue, Two Studies Find

  • Global warming should be limited to 2.7°F to reduce deaths
  • High temperatures can aggravate environmental challenges
Photographer: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Bloomberg
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More than 356,000 people died in 2019 as a result of extreme heat and that number is likely to grow, according to a study published in The Lancet this week.

The Global Burden of Disease review, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, found while cold temperatures still cause a greater number of deaths, mortality rates attributable to heat are growing faster, particularly in hotter regions of the world.