World News | Heat-related deaths rise by 68 in 21 years between April 2000 and 2017: Lancet report

LONDON, 26th October (PTI) Heat-related deaths increased by 68% between 2000-2004 and 2017-2021, while vulnerable populations – the elderly and children under a year old – are in the throes of A global report, 2021 compared to the annual averages from 1986 to 2005.

This report, published by Lancet Countdown, focuses on the continued health impacts of climate change on fossil fuels in light of the health, social and economic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the global energy and cost of living crises. Over-reliance.

Also read | Canada: Indians and Khalistani supporters clash in Mississauga on Diwali night (watch video).

While floods in Australia, Brazil, China, Malaysia, Pakistan and other countries have killed thousands, displaced hundreds of thousands and caused billions of dollars in economic damage, wildfires in Greece, Algeria, Italy, Spain and more A number of countries have set record temperatures, the devastation report said.

According to the report, extreme weather events cost US$253 billion worth of damage in 2021, especially burdening people in countries with low Human Development Index (HDI), where almost no losses are insured.

Also read | Navjit Kaur Brar, Indo-Canadian Healthcare Worker, Becomes First Turban-Wearing Sikh Woman To Be Elected As Brampton City Councillor.

Food security is affected by climate change, as rising temperatures directly threaten crop yields, with the 2020 corn growing season shortened by an average of 9 days, while the global winter and spring wheat growing seasons are 6 days shorter than in 1981-2010.

In an environment where the health impacts of climate change are worsening and exacerbating other coexisting crises, health systems are the first line of defense. However, the rise in demand for healthcare comes as health systems are weakened by the effects of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

Urgent action is therefore needed to strengthen the resilience of health systems to prevent rapidly escalating loss of life and to prevent suffering in a changing climate.

2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where countries agreed to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change and its harmful effects on human health and welfare.

However, there has been little meaningful action since then, according to The Lancet.

Fossil fuel dependence not only undermines global health by increasing the impact of climate change, but also directly affects human health and well-being through volatile and unpredictable fossil fuel markets, fragile supply chains and geopolitical conflicts.

In countries with low HDI, in 2020 only 1.4% of electricity will come from modern renewable sources, namely wind and solar. An estimated 59% of healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries still do not have access to the reliable electricity they need to provide basic care.

Oil and gas companies, on the other hand, are generating record profits, even as their production strategies continue to undermine people’s lives and well-being, the report said.

The world’s largest oil and gas company’s share of emissions is understood to exceed its share of emissions consistent with 1.5°C global warming by 37% and 103% in 2030 and 2040 as of February 2022, continuing to undermine decarbonisation efforts, it said .

To make matters worse, the government continues to incentivize the production and consumption of fossil fuels, the report said.

At the same time, countries have failed to deliver on their commitments to mobilize significantly less of the $100 billion per year by 2020, as agreed in the 2009 Copenhagen Accord, to support climate action in “developing countries,” whose efforts are being heavily funded crippled by shortages, said.

After 30 years of UNFCCC negotiations, the Lancet countdown indicator shows that countries and companies continue to make choices that threaten the health and survival of people around the world.

At this critical time, an immediate health-focused response can still ensure a future in which the world’s population not only survives, but thrives, the report said.

Assessing the health impacts of climate action, the Lancet counts down the launch of this report to help countries achieve their ambition to make the Paris Agreement “the most important public health agreement of the century”.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)