What is Climate Change ?
Climate change is a long-term shift in Earth's average temperatures and weather patterns, largely caused by human activities like burning fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases. These gases trap heat, causing the planet to warm, which leads to consequences such as more frequent extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and disruptions to ecosystems.
Climate change is a hot issue because its impacts, like extreme weather, air pollution, and changing disease patterns, directly threaten human health by causing injury, illness, and death. It also threatens the essential resources needed for good health, such as clean air, water, and nutritious food, leading to food insecurity, displacement, and mental health problems. The effects are worsening, disproportionately harming vulnerable populations, and straining health systems worldwide. Let's take a deep dive and understand the need to understand climate change and act promtly so that our future generation can sustain towars a healthy future.
Key facts
- Climate change is directly contributing to humanitarian emergencies from heatwaves, wildfires, floods, tropical storms and hurricanes and they are increasing in scale, frequency and intensity.
- Research shows that 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone.
- The direct damage costs to health (excluding costs in health-determining sectors such as agriculture and water and sanitation) is estimated to be between US$ 2–4 billion per year by 2030.
- Areas with weak health infrastructure – mostly in developing countries – will be the least able to cope without assistance to prepare and respond.
- Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases through better transport, food and energy use choices can result in very large gains for health, particularly through reduced air pollution.
Overview
Climate change presents a fundamental threat to human health. It affects the physical environment as well as all aspects of both natural and human systems – including social and economic conditions and the functioning of health systems. It is therefore a threat multiplier, undermining and potentially reversing decades of health progress. As climatic conditions change, more frequent and intensifying weather and climate events are observed, including storms, extreme heat, floods, droughts and wildfires. These weather and climate hazards affect health both directly and indirectly, increasing the risk of deaths, noncommunicable diseases, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and health emergencies.
Climate change is also having an impact on our health workforce and infrastructure, reducing capacity to provide universal health coverage (UHC). More fundamentally, climate shocks and growing stresses such as changing temperature and precipitation patterns, drought, floods and rising sea levels degrade the environmental and social determinants of physical and mental health. All aspects of health are affected by climate change, from clean air, water and soil to food systems and livelihoods. Further delay in tackling climate change will increase health risks, undermine decades of improvements in global health, and contravene our collective commitments to ensure the human right to health for all.
Understanding the health impacts of the climate crisis
The climate crisis is the greatest threat to global health. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have increased the temperature of the Earth by over 1.5 °C and caused sea levels to rise by over 24 cm since the beginning of the 20th century. 2024 was the warmest year on record and the last 10 hottest years have all occurred in the last 10 years. Climate models suggest that global surface temperature could rise between 1.5 °C and 5.5 °C compared with the pre-industrial period by 2100, and sea-level rise could be between 0.5 m and 1.3 m. Climate change is already causing significant shifts in weather patterns and an increase in extreme weather events around the world, including droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, storms and floods. These are having an impact on the spread of infectious diseases and the severity of non-infectious diseases. Climate change is already causing food and water insecurity, increasing levels of malnourishment and the burden of disease. The unpredictable impacts of climate change and the perceived inaction from local, national and international leaders, is creating anxiety that is contributing to deteriorating mental health, particularly in young people. The health impacts of climate change will increase in the future if nothing is done to curb greenhouse gas emission. We need action to deal with the climate crisis while improving the health, security and income of the very poorest people in our global society. We must plan for a net zero world that provides healthy, safe and low environmental impact lives for 10 billion people by 2050.
Major Health Impacts
Extreme Weather Events: More frequent and intense heatwaves, floods, storms, and wildfires lead to increased injuries, deaths, and illness.
Air Pollution: Climate change worsens air quality, contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and premature death.
Infectious Diseases: Changing weather patterns expand the geographic range and transmission of diseases carried by insects (like malaria and dengue) and waterborne diseases (like cholera).
Heat-Related Illnesses: Rising temperatures cause heat stress, heat stroke, and complications for those with pre-existing conditions, particularly the elderly.
Indirect Health Impacts
Food and Water Insecurity: Droughts and disruptions to food systems lead to undernutrition and food shortages. Floods and heatwaves can contaminate water sources, leading to waterborne diseases.
Displacement and Conflict: Climate change can make areas uninhabitable, forcing people from their homes and potentially leading to conflict and poverty.
Mental Health: The stress and anxiety associated with climate change and its impacts can significantly affect mental well-being.
Strained Health Systems: Health facilities face challenges in coping with the increased demand from climate-related health emergencies and disruptions to services.
Vulnerable Populations at Risk
Low- and Middle-Income Countries: These nations often have weaker health systems and are less equipped to cope with climate impacts.
Vulnerable Groups: The elderly, children, the poor, and marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by the health consequences of climate change.
Why it's a "Hot" Issue
Escalating Crisis: The scale, frequency, and intensity of health impacts are increasing each year.
Erosion of Progress: Climate change threatens to undermine decades of progress in global health and development.
Interconnected Crises: Climate change is intertwined with other major global issues, such as noncommunicable diseases, and requires aligned action
Climate Change Originating from Human Activity
Human activities have increased levels of the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide by 50% and methane by over 150% in our atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.1 Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are now higher than anytime in the last 3 million years.In 2024 we emitted the most greenhouse gases of any year recorded.
Anthropogenic GHG emissions have increased the temperature of the Earth by over 1.5 °C and caused sea levels to rise by >25 cm since the beginning of the 20th century. Since 1880, the 10 warmest years on record have all occurred in the past 10 years.4 2024 was the warmest year ever recorded: global temperatures crossed the 1.5 °C threshold, set by global leaders in Paris in 2015, for the first time.
Significant resulting changes in the Earth’s climate system have been observed. Warming of the land and oceans and sea levels rising all over the world, melting of permafrost, earlier occurrence of plant growth in spring, shifts in geographic ranges of some plants, animals and insects. Extreme weather events have increased globally,2 including super-storms, mega-floods, severe droughts, unprecedented heatwaves and uncontrollable wildfires.
Over 35 global climate models have been run for different future scenarios, ranging from no climate action to maximum efforts to keep temperature rises below 1.5 °C.6 These models suggest that, by the end of the century, global temperatures could rise between 1.5 °C-5.5 °C compared with the pre-industrial period. In all predictions, average land and ocean precipitation increase.
Incidents which have globally occurred due to climate change
Significant incidents worldwide caused or intensified by climate change in 2024 and 2025 include record-breaking temperatures, severe floods, deadly hurricanes and typhoons, extensive droughts, and widespread wildfires. Attribution studies confirmed that human-induced global warming fueled these and other devastating extreme weather events.
Global temperature records
2024 was the hottest year on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2023. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that for the first time, the global annual average temperature clearly exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
2025 followed a similar trend, with global temperatures expected to remain at or near record levels, according to WMO projections. May 2025 was the second warmest May on record.
Extreme heat stress reached new highs in 2024. On July 10, a record 44% of the globe was affected by strong to extreme heat stress, with Algeria recording a "feels-like" temperature of 59.1°C.
Extreme heatwaves
2024 and 2025: Heatwaves plagued multiple regions, including Southeast Asia, the Americas, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, leading to deaths and overwhelming health systems.
Hajj disaster (June 2024): More than 1,000 pilgrims died due to extreme heat during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Europe (2025): Summer 2025 was Spain's hottest on record, with temperatures exceeding 45°C. In Europe as a whole, it was the hottest summer since record-keeping began in 1884.
Severe floods
Pakistan (2024 & 2025): The country experienced deadly flash floods in August 2024 and severe monsoon flooding in June and August 2025, with climate change intensifying the heavy rainfall.
Europe (2024): Central and Eastern Europe were hit by devastating flash floods in September from Storm Boris, causing billions in economic damage.
Spain (October 2024): Flash floods caused by downpours led to over 200 deaths and widespread destruction in eastern Spain.
Brazil (April–May 2024): The Rio Grande do Sul region experienced its worst flooding in 80 years, killing nearly 200 people.
China (2024): The country experienced several destructive floods, including the second strongest summer heatwave in its history, and torrential rains in Huludao.
India (2024 & 2025): Severe and erratic monsoon rains in 2025 caused floods and landslides, including in Uttarakhand and Assam.
Central Texas (July 2025): Inland flash floods became the deadliest in the U.S. since 1976.
Intense tropical cyclones
Hurricane Helene (September 2024): A Category 4 hurricane that became the deadliest to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina, killing over 250 people and causing massive flooding in the Appalachian mountains.
Hurricane Milton (October 2024): A Category 5 hurricane that rapidly intensified in the Gulf of Mexico, with wind speeds intensified by climate change.
Typhoon Yagi (August–September 2024): One of the strongest typhoons on record to hit China in autumn, also affected other parts of Asia.
Philippines (October–November 2024): Was struck by five typhoons and a tropical storm in a short period, a barrage made more likely by climate change.
Cyclone Zelia (February 2025): Made landfall as a Category 4-equivalent tropical cyclone in Western Australia.
Hurricane Erick (June 2025): Made landfall on Mexico's Pacific coast as a Category 3 storm.
Droughts and wildfires
Amazon (2024): Suffered its worst drought on record, intensified by human-caused warming rather than solely by the El Niño cycle.
Canada (2024 & 2025): Persistent wildfires, exacerbated by dry conditions, forced evacuations and sent smoke across the US.
Spain and Portugal (2025): Extreme fire weather conditions became common due to climate change, with 380,000 hectares burned in Spain by September.
Southern Africa (2024): Experienced its worst drought in a century.
Texas and Oklahoma (2025): Wildfires were fueled by hurricane-force winds and low humidity in March.
Glacial melt and sea ice loss
Antarctica (2024): Saw historically low sea ice extent for much of the year, with a record low monthly extent in November.
Globally (2024): All glacier regions worldwide reported losses for the third straight year, contributing to sea-level rise.
Arctic (2025): Global sea ice extent reached a new all-time minimum in February.
Ocean warming and other events
Marine heatwaves (2024): Record-high sea surface temperatures led to a global coral bleaching event.
Coastal impacts: Rising sea levels threatened low-lying islands in the South-West Pacific.
Desert flooding: The Sahara Desert experienced rare floods in September 2024.
Atmospheric imbalances: The total amount of atmospheric water vapor reached a record high in 2024, exacerbating extreme rainfall.
What Is The Immediate Solution To Climate Change
To be practical the solution for cure for permanent solution is almost over, but yes there are ways where where we can maka a significant impact so that our up-coming generation could sustain in a healthy world and if implemented by our up-coming generations a better world is possible. So let's see some effective ways if implemented can lead to a greener planet.
Shift to Renewable Energy
Replace Fossil Fuels: Transition away from coal, oil, and natural gas by adopting clean, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and nuclear power.
Energy Efficiency: Reduce overall energy consumption by improving the efficiency of buildings, equipment, and industrial processes.
Transform Transportation
Electrify Transport: Switch to electric vehicles and use public transport, which significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.
Sustainable Modes: Encourage walking, biking, and carpooling to further cut emissions from transportation.
Enhance Natural Carbon Sinks
Forestry and Land Use: Protect and restore forests, which play a vital role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Sustainable Agriculture: Implement agricultural practices that increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil.
Implement Carbon Capture and Storage
Direct Air Capture: Use technologies to capture carbon dioxide directly from the air.
Industrial Capture: Capture carbon emissions from fossil fuel power and manufacturing plants before they are released and store them underground.
Behavioral and Policy Changes
Reduce Consumption: Adopt more sustainable consumption habits to lower the demand for goods and services that contribute to emissions.
Support Policies: Implement policies and treaties, like the Paris Agreement, that commit nations to reducing emissions and strengthening their climate action plans over time.
By investing in climate solutions now, we not only avoid catastrophe but also unlock opportunities for innovation, resilience, and shared prosperity.
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