Climate Change is taking millions of lives each year

Question

In a news release on October 29, 2025, the World Health Organization warned that inaction on climate change already costs millions of lives each year. It points out that 12 of 20 key health-related indicators reached record levels, linking rising heat, air pollution, and other climate-driven stresses to increasing mortality, strains on health systems, and economic losses.

Among its major findings is that heat-related mortality has increased by 23 % since the 1990s, with an estimated average of 546,000 heat-related deaths per year. The report also points out that fossil fuel subsidies remain enormous—in 2023, governments provided about US$956 billion in net fossil fuel subsidies, which in many countries exceeded spending on health—showing how political priorities continue to hamstring efforts to both mitigate climate change and protect public health.

Answer 1

This is true. The WHO is a direct and reliable source of information on this topic, and that article provides lots of information on the climate crisis and related human suffering. As climate change has persisted on, deaths caused by climate change-both directly and indirectly-have also continued to climb. Increased and prolonged heatwaves are direct causes of death, and indirectly through more and more wildfires, rising sea levels, and increased extreme weather events. I found a good source of all of the extreme weather events in the US in 2024, and it has numerous links for each section and claim. Those weather events are huge contributors to climate change related deaths, and the numbers and the damages caused by those events continues to grow.  

https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heat-related-deaths

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/

Answer 2

Yes, the claim "climate change is taking millions of lives each year" is true. The World Health Organization states that "continued overreliance on fossil fuels and failure to adapt to a heating world are already having a devastating toll on human health." 12 of the 20 key threats have been affecting human lives and their health. In the past year there have been threats caused by rising heat, wildfire, droughts, and economic strain. While this is very much a problem, there are many cities trying to fix this and promote climate action to change this. This claim is seconded by the Health Policy Watch which further proves this information to be reliable. 

https://www.who.int/news/item/29-10-2025-climate-inaction-is-claiming-millions-of-lives-every-year--warns-new-lancet-countdown-report

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/climate-change-is-here-and-its-killing-millions/