photo: un.org
Climate and environment
Billions of people are facing an "epidemic" of extreme heat and increasingly deadly heat waves with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius. This was announced by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as he unveiled his new call for action against extreme heat.
According to the UN chief, the new data shows that last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were the three hottest days on record.
Extreme heat destroys economies, increases inequality, undermines the Sustainable Development Goals and causes deaths. The earth is becoming an increasingly hot and dangerous place to live. The Call to Action is the first of its kind to highlight the impacts of extreme heat on multiple sectors, drawing on the expertise of ten UN specialized entities.
Threat to life
June 2024 was the 13th month in a row that a temperature record was broken. The UN chief's report warns that without immediate action, billions of people will continue to suffer from increasingly severe heatwaves.
The Secretary-General pointed out that those most at risk as temperatures rise include pregnant women, people with disabilities and co-morbidities, the elderly, children, displaced people and the poor, who often live in inadequate housing without air conditioning.
Heat stress is the leading cause of death due to extreme weather. It is estimated that between 2000 and 2019, approximately 489 000 deaths from heat-related causes occurred annually, of which 45 % in Asia and 36 % in Europe. The number of heat-related deaths among people aged 65 years and older increased by approximately 85 percent between 2000-2004 and 2018-2022.
UNICEF: Heatwave kills nearly 400 children a year in Europe and Central Asia
Experts from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have concluded that if current conditions continue, almost all of the world's children under the age of 18 - 2.2 billion children - will be exposed to heat waves by 2050, up from 24 per cent in 2020.
Impact on workers
More than 70 % of the global workforce - 2.4 billion people - are now at high risk of extreme heat, according to new data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
"We found 22.8 million workplace injuries related to extreme heat, nearly 19,000 deaths, and more than 26 million cases of kidney disease due to long-term occupational heat exposure," said ILO expert Bálint Nafradi.
In 2022, heat exposure resulted in a loss of work capacity and potential income equivalent to $863 billion. Meanwhile, the ILO estimates that when daytime temperatures rise above 34 degrees Celsius, labour productivity will fall by 50 %.
Action Plan
The UN chief calls for urgent and concerted efforts to strengthen international cooperation in four critical areas.
First, all countries and communities must protect the most vulnerable from the impacts of extreme heat, reduce risks and build resilience. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) estimate that expanding heat warning systems in 57 countries could save nearly 100 000 lives each year.
According to Guterres, there is a need for better access to low-carbon cooling, the expansion of passive cooling, for example through urban design, as well as "greener" and more efficient solutions. The UN Environment Programme estimates that together these measures could protect 3.5 billion people by 2050 while reducing emissions and saving consumers $1 trillion a year, the UN chief said.
Second, the Secretary-General called for the protection of workers in all sectors through appropriate occupational safety and health measures based on human rights principles. In particular, urgent measures must be taken to protect the health and lives of workers in all regions of the world from the risk of extreme heat.
In addition, the UN calls on all countries and communities to form sustainable, multi-sectoral and multi-level partnerships to develop and implement integrated action plans, strategies and solutions for building resilience to weather-related events.
Finally, the UN chief reiterated the importance of accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels and increasing investment in renewable energy. Under the Paris Agreement, each country must submit a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) with targets for emissions reductions by early 2025.
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