Climate crisis ‘responsible for one in three heat-related deaths’

Counting the human cost of inaction should force authorities to rethink their priorities when it comes to reducing emissions, writes Harry Cockburn

‘We expect the proportion of heat-related deaths to continue to grow if we don’t do something about climate change' (Getty)

Higher temperatures due to the climate crisis – driven by human-made greenhouse gas emissions – are already responsible for one in three heat-related deaths, new research suggests.

Between 1991 and 2018 more than a third of all deaths in which heat played a role were attributable to human-induced global heating, according to an international study using data from 43 countries, which was led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the University of Bern in Germany.

Researchers used records from 732 locations around the world which they said revealed “the actual contribution of man-made climate change in increasing mortality risks due to heat”.