Libreville, November 17, 2023 (AGP) – The leading medical journal The Lancet unveiled, Wednesday November 15, its annual report on the dangers of climate on human health, international media report.
According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), around 4.2 million people died in 2019 due to outdoor air pollution, and 2.7 billion remain exposed to dangerous levels.
The number of people dying from the heat is rising sharply and tens of millions of people have found themselves food insecure.
The 8th annual Lancet Countdownes report, devoted to the consequences of climate change on human health, produced by 114 authors from 52 institutions, reveals that health risks do not stop at air pollution alone. He mentions that deaths from air pollution linked to fossil fuels have fallen by almost 17% since 2005, mainly thanks to the reduction in coal burning. Heat-related deaths among those over 65 increased by 85% between 2013 and 2022 compared to the period 1991-2000.
Also, this increase would have been limited to 38% if temperatures had not changed, simply taking into account demographic developments, it is specified. Further delays in climate action would lead to three times more heat-related deaths by 2050.
The UN Climate Conference which opens in two weeks in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) will devote an entire day to the health, care and recovery of women and men affected by the effects of climate. Financial commitments and promises of action are announced by the presidency.
DT/EN/FSS
