Climate Crisis: Heat, Smoke, and Hunger on the Rise

The planet is getting hotter, and people are paying the price. Over the past few decades, the number of deaths caused by extreme heat has shot up by 23%. That means around 546, 000 people die each year because of it. And it's not just heat; wildfire smoke is also taking a toll. In 2024 alone, 154, 000 people died due to air pollution from wildfires. Burning fossil fuels like gasoline and coal is making things worse. It causes air pollution that leads to about 2. 5 million deaths every year. Despite knowing the risks, some governments, including the U. S. , are backing away from their promises to fight climate change. This is a big problem because the world just had its hottest year on record in 2024. People around the globe faced 16 extra days of dangerous heat due to climate change. In the U. S. , heat waves are becoming more common. People experienced an average of 14 days of extreme heat, and 10 of those days wouldn't have happened without climate change. Wildfire smoke also caused around 11, 500 deaths in the U. S. , nearly 50% more than the average from 2003 to 2012. Droughts and heat waves are also making it harder for people to get enough food. In 2023, 123 million more people faced food shortages compared to the average from 1981 to 2010. In the U. S. , nearly a third of the land experienced at least one month of extreme drought each year from 2020 to 2024. This is a big increase from the 1950s. Despite all these problems, the world's biggest oil and gas companies are still planning to produce more fossil fuels. In 2024, the top 40 lenders to the fossil fuel sector invested a record $611 billion, which is 29% more than in 2023. Experts warn that if we keep relying on fossil fuels, our health systems and disaster response teams will struggle to keep up. This puts the lives of all 8 billion people on the planet at risk. It's clear that we need to take action now to adapt to climate change and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.