Heat waves are set to become more frequent, intense, and deadly as climate change advances. They will push human, psychological, and social boundaries farther in the coming years, impacting regions such as the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and South Asia, according to a joint assessment by the United Nations and the Red Cross Movement.
A study conducted by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Federation of the Red Cross warns of multiple heatwaves this year across Europe, South Asia, Australia, North Africa, the United States, and China. These events are not isolated incidents; they signal what could lie ahead for other vulnerable areas as well. The message from the report underscores the growing scale of heat-related danger and the need for proactive planning.
As UN humanitarian coordinator Martin Griffiths emphasized during the report’s unveiling, extreme weather events such as heat waves and floods disproportionately affect the most vulnerable communities. This disparity is especially visible in nations facing hunger, conflict, and poverty, where resilience is continually tested by climate shocks.
To lessen the worst outcomes, the document calls for balanced investments in adaptation and mitigation with a focus on the countries at highest risk. It stresses that preventive actions must be grounded in local needs and sustained by international support to build lasting protection against rising temperatures.
Long-term projections suggest that by century’s end, heat waves could push death rates to levels comparable with cancer or infectious diseases in less developed regions, highlighting the urgent need for robust public health and infrastructure measures across the globe.
Recent heat waves have already proven deadly, underscoring the urgency for faster, smarter action. The 2003 European heat crisis claimed roughly 70,000 lives, and the 2010 Russian heat event resulted in about 55,000 fatalities. These stark examples illustrate the potential severity if aid and adaptation efforts do not scale up promptly.
In the context of Somalia, Griffiths highlighted the critical need for timely humanitarian help as famine threats loom in some regions. He warned that the humanitarian system remains underfunded and underprepared for such heat-driven challenges, calling for immediate enhancements in financing and response capacity.
According to Chapagain, heat waves affect nearly every region but are most acutely felt in Africa and Latin America. Without effective international action, these extreme conditions could worsen hunger, disease, and conflict, placing further strain on already fragile communities.
The report outlines practical responses, including the establishment of early warning systems to assist local emergency responders and preventive programs. It notes that humanitarian organizations, including the Red Cross, have already begun implementing everyday measures that can help, such as improving home insulation and adjusting school schedules to shield children from peak heat periods. These measures demonstrate that small, proactive steps can have meaningful, tangible benefits for vulnerable populations.
Protecting vulnerable groups remains a top priority. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and infants are particularly at risk during heat waves. UNICEF reports that 820 million children live in areas with high exposure to extreme heat, underscoring the need for targeted protection and support for young lives across hot regions.
The report stresses that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius could dramatically reduce the number of people exposed to extreme heat by roughly 420 million. This finding supports ambitious climate action ahead of major international gatherings on climate change and highlights the direct link between policy choices and human health outcomes.