{
  "id": 16821714,
  "title": "Climate change must be declared 'global health emergency': Lancet study",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/climate-change-must-be-declared-global-health-emergency-lancet-study",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-28T00:18:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/10/1565084/climate-change-must-be-declared-global-health-emergency-lancet-study"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Lancet study has reported that climate change should be declared a global health emergency to influence governments' policies. Published ahead of the COP 31 climate summit, the report found that heat was responsible for three million deaths between 2016 and 2023, with 68 percent of those deaths directly linked to climate change. Executive Director Marina Romanello stated that the toll of heat-related deaths is equivalent to the entire population of Wales being wiped out in eight years. The researchers compiled heat-related deaths from states, subtracting those that would have occurred without climate change. Professor Ollie Jay explained that climate change intensifies and increases the frequency of extreme heat events. Economic costs associated with warming include a loss of more than $1 trillion annually in worker productivity, with Southeast Asia and Africa bearing the brunt, losing 3.9 percent and 3.2 percent of their GDP, respectively. Progress has been made in integrating health systems to anticipate extreme events, and investment in clean energy has reached $2.1 trillion in 2025, surpassing investments in fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels still account for 80 percent of global energy, causing 2.73 million annual deaths from air pollution. Despite a sevenfold increase in climate-related medical research funding to $316 million in 2024, 84 percent of these funds go to researchers in wealthy nations, even though the least developed countries are most affected by climate-related health threats. The researchers faced challenges due to the disappearance of certain data sources, such as US fossil fuel subsidies, and noted that geopolitical instability has pushed climate change and its health impacts into the background.",
  "summary": "PARIS: Climate change must be declared a “global health emergency” to shape governments’ policies after heat caused three million deaths between 2016 and 2023, a report in The Lancet said Wednesday.",
  "key_points": [
    "Climate change declared global health emergency by Lancet study",
    "Heat responsible for 3 million deaths (2016-2023), 68% climate-linked",
    "Economic costs: $1 trillion+ annual worker productivity loss"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Reframing climate change as a health emergency forces governments to address the massive human toll and economic losses that currently threaten the stability of the world's most vulnerable regions.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "Climate change must be declared 'global health emergency': Lancet study",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/climate-change-must-be-declared-global-health-emergency-lancet-study-16825533",
        "published": "2026-10-28T00:28:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Climate change must be declared a ‘global health emergency’, says Lancet study",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/climate-change-must-be-declared-a-global-health-emergency-says-lancet",
        "published": "2026-10-28T00:34:19.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "NDTV",
        "title": "Climate Change Must Be Declared \"Global Health Emergency\": Report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/climate-change-must-be-declared-global-health-emergency-report",
        "published": "2026-10-28T01:11:54.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Vibes",
        "title": "Climate change linked to 68% of heat deaths since Paris Agreement - Lancet report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/climate-change-linked-to-68-of-heat-deaths-since-paris-agreement",
        "published": "2026-10-28T02:08:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Euronews",
        "title": "Climate change should be declared health emergency as health risks can no longer be ignored",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/climate-change-should-be-declared-health-emergency-as-health-risks",
        "published": "2026-10-28T04:05:57.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}