Climate change is increasingly driving violations of the right to life and the right to health. In fact, climate change has been called “the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century”.
Extreme weather events, including heatwaves, flooding, droughts, wildfires and tropical cyclones, which are increasingly made much more likely and more severe by human-induced climate change, pose a serious threat to people’s right to mental and physical health. Not only are people injured and killed in these events, but public health facilities may be damaged or destroyed, and illnesses can spread among people who are displaced.
An increase in extreme heat in all regions has resulted in more people dying and becoming ill, more occurrence of disease, and more people migrating.
The number of deaths from climate change is expected to be significant, and an even larger number of people will develop disabilities and health conditions. The World Economic Forum estimates that, by 2050, climate change will result in 14.5 million deaths worldwide.
