Climate inaction is claiming millions of lives every year, warns new Lancet Countdown report

WHO and global partners are calling for the protection of people’s health to be recognized as the most powerful driver of climate action, as a new global report released today warns that continued overreliance on fossil fuels and failure to adapt to a heating world are already having a devastating toll on human health.The 2025 report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, produced in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), finds that 12 of 20 key indicators tracking health threats have reached record levels, showing how climate inaction is costing lives, straining health systems, and undermining economies.“The climate crisis is a health crisis. Every fraction of a degree of warming costs lives and livelihoods,” said Dr Jeremy Farrar, Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Care at the World Health Organization. “This report, produced with WHO as a strategic partner, makes clear that climate inacti