The impact of climate change on human health is now outstripping international action, prompting experts to demand that the crisis be officially declared a global health emergency.

According to the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, health risks from global warming escalated faster in the decade following the 2015 Paris Agreement than during the preceding decade.

Global average annual heat-related fatalities surged by almost 36 per cent after the Paris accord was established.

Extreme heat contributed to a record 710,000 fatalities in 2023, with researchers attributing over 70 per cent directly to man-made warming.

The paper involved over 140 experts across 30-plus nations, led by University College London (UCL) alongside the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Published on Wednesday before next month's UN Cop31 climate conference, the study monitors 54 indicators tracking how health interacts with heat, air pollution, disease transmission, energy infrastructure, adaptation, research financing,…