By Salam Rajesh
The Global Human Health Issues
In a risk-filled fast changing global climate scenario, the dialogues are not being limited to deaths and destruction from cyclones, wildfires, glacial lake outburst floods, and such other extremes related to a steadily rising temperature globally.
The dialogues are also focused on the drastic impacts on human health from climate and weather extremes, so much so that research by climate watch-group Climate Impact Lab suggests that temperature-related deaths are an inequitable threat to human well-being as well.
The research by Emily Grover-Kopec, Tamma Carleton and Michael Greenstone, titled ‘Human Health: Measuring the impact of rising temperatures on mortality to target adaptation planning’ (2026) suggests that ten times more people are projected to die each year in lower-income countries (about 391,000 people) than in higher-income countries (about 39,000 people) due to shifting temperatures, despite being expected to have roughly equal populations.
Analyzing how likely a person is to die from a warming climate depending on where they live, the authors says a warmer climate will lead to more deaths from extreme heat, and fewer deaths from extreme cold.
This analytic reading suggests that cooler regions (that is, mid-to-high latitudes) are projected to see a decrease in deaths, such as countries in Scandinavia where the temperature-related mortality rate is expected to decline by more than 70 deaths per 100,000 people.
On the other hand, hotter regions (that is, lower-latitudes) such as Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia are projected to see more deaths, according to the study.
Those across the Sahel, such as Niger and Burkina Faso, are projected to see increases exceeding 60 deaths per 100,000 people – more than the mortality rate from malaria in Africa currently (that is, 52 deaths per 100,000).
In Southwest Asia, Pakistan is projected to see a net increase in mortality of 51 deaths per 100,000 people by 2050, comparable to the loss of life due to stroke in that country today, the report said.
Scientific Studies Updates
Malathy Iyer reporting for Times News Network earlier this month, quoting a new analysis by international non-profit research group Zero Carbon Analytics, suggested that climate change caused by human activity led to an estimated 8,830 additional preterm births in India during the April 2024 heat wave.
The analysis indicated that preterm birth, referring to when a baby is born before 37 weeks of gestation, is the leading cause of newborn deaths worldwide, while warning that premature babies, too, face a higher risk of long-term health and developmental problems.
The Zero Carbon Analytics study indicated that climate change made the April 2024 heat wave at least 45 times more likely, linking the climate extreme event to 10,600 additional preterm births that season.
Across India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, the overall April 2024 heat wave was associated with around 16,150 more preterm births than would have occurred during a typical April in recent decades, the study suggested, supplementing that India saw a 3.6% increase, compared with 11.9% in Bangladesh and 10% in the Philippines.
Specialists at Mumbai’s Sion Hospital said extreme heat puts the pregnant body under stress, where any extreme climatic condition can affect pregnant women, making them suffer from dehydration or stress that releases hormones which could predispose them to preterm labor.
The Zero Carbon Analytics study suggested that by mid-century, India would see more than 15,000 additional preterm births during a typical April due to heat, exceeding the estimated burden during April 2024. Uttar Pradesh is projected to face the highest burden, followed by Bihar and Rajasthan, the study said.
South Asia has the world’s highest preterm birth rate, at 13.2% in 2020, where Bangladesh had the highest national rate at 16.2%, followed by India at 13%, the study noted.
The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says human-caused climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of heat waves since the 1950s, and additional warming will further increase their frequency and intensity.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s Secretary-General, Celeste Saulo says it is no wonder that extreme weather consistently features as one of the top risks in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s annual Global Risks Report.
The number of people affected by weather and climate-related disasters continues to rise, year by year, and the terrible human impacts of this have been apparent on a day-by-day basis in recent times, Saulo says.
WMO is stepping up action on extreme heat and heat waves, through a new framework and toolkit to assist vulnerable countries, and to strengthen governance, coordination and investment in response to extreme heat risks, the WMO Secretary-General said.
And, as if that is not all, the worst case scenario is that March 2026 was cited as globally the fourth-warmest on record, at 1.48 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which is implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).
Carlo Buontempo, Director of Copernicus Climate Change Service at ECMWF, says: “Copernicus data for March 2026 tells a sobering story, 1.48°C above pre-industrial levels, the lowest Arctic sea ice extent on record for March, and sea surface temperatures again approaching historic highs. Each figure is striking on its own, and together, they paint a picture of a climate system under sustained and accelerating pressure”.
The End Game
The overall scenario is, therefore, one that does not promise pleasant days for the people in these tiring times when wars and internal conflicts are causing additional health issues besides that already caused by climate and weather extremes, more particularly for those families in vulnerable societies such as in South Asia, the Middle East and in Africa specifically.
{The author is member of IUCN CEESP (Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy)}
