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Lancet Countdown: climate impacts on health

This dossier follows reports from the Lancet Countdown, a scientific collaboration led by University College London, and its findings on climate and health. It distinguishes research estimates from decisions by health authorities.

Last updated : 1 key moments
The portico at University College London.
University College London portico, March 2015. Archive photograph; it does not show the report launch. Raya Sharbain, CC BY-SA 4.0. — Raya Sharbain / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ; Londres, 25 mars 2015 ; redimensionnement.

Where things stand

The report released on 28 October 2026 calls for climate change to be recognised as a global health emergency. Its authors say health harms are growing faster than the response.

Confirmed

Lancet Countdown calls for climate health emergency recognition

The tenth Lancet Countdown report, released on 28 October 2026, calls for climate change to be recognised as a global health emergency. The collaboration led by University College London says health impacts are accelerating faster than protective measures.

The portico at University College London.
University College London portico, March 2015. Archive photograph; it does not show the report launch. Raya Sharbain, CC BY-SA 4.0. — Raya Sharbain / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ; Londres, 25 mars 2015 ; redimensionnement.

The work brings together 146 researchers and tracks 54 indicators linking climate and health. It examines heat, drought, hydrological extremes and health system preparedness, among other areas.

The report’s estimates, relayed by WHO and Le Temps, associate heat with about 710,000 deaths worldwide in 2023. This is a retrospective global estimate, rather than a tally of deaths in Europe in 2026.

The authors acknowledge benefits from clean energy and health adaptation but consider them insufficient and unevenly distributed. Their appeal seeks a coordinated response that places health at the centre of climate policy. It does not itself constitute a formal emergency declaration by WHO.

Sources 4