With less than two weeks to go until the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP31, brings world leaders to Antalya, Türkiye to discuss the need to transition away from fossil fuels, nearly 150 international experts warned that climate change brought on by greenhouse gas emissions constitutes a "global health emergency" whose harms are accelerating. The "2026 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change," written by researchers at University College London and the World Health Organization (WHO) and published in The Lancet, tracks dozens of indicators that link climate change to public health, including drought, extreme hurricanes and flooding, and economic losses. But one top indicator that planetary heating has caused a worsening public health crisis is the extreme heat that was blamed for more than 50,000 deaths across Europe this summer, and which could lead to 450,000 excess deaths in the coming months as the climate emergency is compounded by this year's "Super El Niño." According to the report, annual average heat-related deaths have surged by nearly 36% since the Paris climate agreement was signed in 2015, securing pledges from governments to draw down fossil fuel emissions, compared to the decade preceding the deal. More than 70% of...

The 2026 Lancet Countdown report on the links between climate and health says the growth of renewable energy in recent years “has exceeded expectations, delivering health and economic benefits globally”, while tackling climate change has become a priority for global health. But it adds that “emissions continue to reach record highs [and] climate change is increasingly affecting health and threatening people’s survival worldwide”. “The window of opportunity to avoid a potentially catastrophic future is rapidly closing. Weakening multilateralism and growing climate change disinformation, denialism, and scepticism are now increasingly undermining collective action and threatening to reverse progress to date.” The Countdown report, issued yesterday, documents the growing health impacts of climate change through more than 50 key indicators while also identifying opportunities for a health-centred response. These indicators show that, since the Paris Agreement, “people have experienced not only increasing climate change-related health impacts and risks, but also an acceleration in these changes across numerous impacts compared with the previous decade.” ‘Rapidly growing threats’ With global heat, for example, during 2016–23 heat was associated with an average of 540,800 deaths per year, reaching a record-high of 710,000 globally in 2023, of which just over 70 per cent were attributed to...

October 20, 2026 Kenya has confirmed nine cases of Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus, including one death, following the arrival of an infected traveler from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Oct...

Camilo Castelblanco-Riveros, a fifth-year PhD student in Integrative Neuroscience at Dartmouth, a program administered by the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, has spent his PhD chas…

“A decade after the Paris Agreement, our findings are unambiguous: the health harms of climate change are growing faster than the world's response to them, and in many cases even accelerating,” said Professor Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown, in a statement. “Real progress has been made in clean energy, health system readiness, and health-protective regulation, all of which are already delivering health benefits to local communities. However, progress has been too slow, too small, and isn't reaching those who need it most.” <span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;">&nbsp;</span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;">&nbsp;</span> A decade of extreme heat The last 11 years have been the hottest on record, the report explains. The US just had its hottest September ever. This summer, Europe saw a heatwave that scientists concluded would have been “virtually impossible” 50 years ago. Analysis of rainfall data from one London weather station identified the first month with no rain in its 155-year history. Even the far northern reaches of the Russian Arctic have recorded temperatures above 32°C (90°F) this summer. As scientists overwhelmingly agree, the warming trend is clear and undeniable. According to the new report, climate change is estimated to have caused almost 3 million heat deaths...

This global round-up brings you health stories from the past month. Top stories: AI among 17 threats to human health, Lancet Commission finds; How selfies can reveal our biological age; and Ebola spreads to fourth African country. 1. Experts declare 17 catastrophic threats to human health this century Using AI for malicious purposes and nuclear war top a list of risks to human health – and indeed survival – over the remainder of this century, according to experts from the fields of health, economics, security, governance and technology. The Lancet Commission on 21st Century Global Threats to Health identifies 17 “interconnected dangers to humanity”, including air pollution, climate change, pandemics and childhood malnutrition, that need to be tackled as a whole “to protect and strengthen the future of health”. Each of the threats is projected to contribute at least 1 billion years of healthy life lost by 2100 – or disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) – if successful interventions are not achieved. Two of the threats – nuclear conflict and the malicious use of AI – carry “extinction potential”, says The Lancet. While alarming, the point of the analysis, which draws on Global Burden of Disease data from the Institute for...

Bright Eye Clinic has been honored as the top Ophthalmology Wellness Clinic in Korea at the 2026 GlobalHealth Asia-Pacific Awards, shining a light on its dedication to patient care.

Bright Eye Clinic meraih gelar &quot;Ophthalmology Wellness Clinic of the Year in Korea&quot; dalam ajang 2026 GlobalHealth Asia-Pacific Awards. Gelar ini ...

The new chief will take over the Global Fund amid significant changes in global health, where traditional foreign aid is seeing a decline and there are calls for global health institutions to consolid...

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World Health Organization (WHO)

Climate change should formally be declared a global health emergency, experts have warned after they found that impacts on human health are outpacing the action countries are taking. Health harms from climate change have grown faster in the decade since countries signed the international Paris Agreement in 2015 compared to the decade before, according to the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. Annual average heat-related deaths rose by nearly 36% globally after the Paris Agreement was introduced, its findings suggest. In 2023 alone, heat was linked to a record 710,000 deaths, with more than 70% of that toll attributable to human-caused climate change, the researchers found. More than 140 experts from more than 30 countries worked on the paper, led by University College London (UCL) and produced in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). Published ahead of the start of UN climate summit Cop31 next month, the paper tracks 54 "indicators" that cover how health interacts with areas such as heat, air quality, climate suitability for infectious disease transmission, energy systems, adaptation, health research funding, legislative engagement, extreme weather events and climate-driven economic losses. According to the findings, extreme drought affected nearly 52% of the world's land for...

Countries with higher levels of human development generally had better universal health coverage (UHC), with disparities between income groups often greater than differences between world regions, according to a new study published in the journalPLOS Global Public Health. Universal health coverage means that everyone can access the quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without facing financial hardship. Achieving UHC is a key target of the United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals. UHC and human development are closely linked, as greater access to preventive care, health screenings and vaccinations can contribute to better health outcomes. Health service coverage is measured using the UHC Service Coverage Index (SCI), which covers four areas: reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health; infectious diseases; non-communicable diseases; and service capacity and access. Researchers led by Akira Hayasaka of Yokohama City University, Japan, analysed the relationship between health service coverage and the Human Development Index (HDI), using World Health Organization (WHO) and UN data from 194 countries. The study found persistent disparities between income groups in overall health service coverage, infectious disease services, service capacity and access, and human development. The gaps were smaller for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health services, and less...