Publication date: Jan 06, 2025
The impacts of climate change on human health are often underestimated or perceived to be in a distant future. Here, we present the projected impacts of climate change in the context of COVID-19, a recent human health catastrophe. We compared projected heat mortality with COVID-19 deaths in 38 cities worldwide and found that in half of these cities, heat-related deaths could exceed annual COVID-19 deaths in less than ten years (at + 3. 0 ^0C increase in global warming relative to preindustrial). In seven of these cities, heat mortality could exceed COVID-19 deaths in less than five years. Our results underscore the crucial need for climate action and for the integration of climate change into public health discourse and policy.
Open Access PDF
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Climate | Cities |
| Covid | Climate Change |
| Future | COVID-19 |
| Global | Hot Temperature |
| Mortality | Humans |
| Public Health | |
| SARS-CoV-2 |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Pentaerythritol tetranitrate |
| disease | MESH | Long Covid |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Etodolac |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Aspartame |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Ethionamide |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Medical air |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Coenzyme M |
| disease | IDO | history |
| disease | MESH | extreme heat |
| disease | IDO | country |
| drug | DRUGBANK | MCC |
| disease | MESH | causes |
| disease | MESH | death |
| disease | IDO | process |
| disease | MESH | uncertainty |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Guanosine |
| pathway | REACTOME | Reproduction |