Fossil fuel-driven climate disasters are raising death tolls worldwide

More than half a million people have died in the last 20 years from disasters intensified by climate change, with an urgent call for action at the upcoming COP29 summit in Azerbaijan.

Austyn Gaffney reports for The New York Times.

In short:

• A new report attributes more than 500,000 deaths to climate-intensified disasters since 2004, including heat waves, floods and cyclones in regions like Europe, Myanmar and Somalia.
• The report highlights that extreme weather impacts poorer countries more severely, with Somalia and Myanmar suffering massive losses from droughts and cyclones worsened by warming.
• Experts emphasize the importance of infrastructure and preparedness but warn that adaptation limits may soon be exceeded without stronger action on emissions.

Key quote:

“Climate change has already made life incredibly hard and really dangerous, and we’re only at 1.3 degrees of warming.”

— Joyce Kimutai, researcher at Imperial College London

Why this matters:

The rising death toll from climate-driven disasters underscores the need for urgent mitigation and adaptation. With COP29 approaching, leaders face pressure to address climate inequities, especially as low-emission countries bear the brunt of climate-induced disasters.