347 Million People Suffer High Risk Heat

By Douglas McIntyre  •  March 21, 2025
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According to Climate Central, 347 million people worldwide suffered from high-risk heat from December through February. In summary, the report said, “Human-caused climate change increased heat-related health risks for billions and made extreme heat events more likely around the globe.”

200 Countries And 940 Cities

The report examined 200 countries and 940 cities. Seventy-four percent of those in the “high-risk heat” category live in Africa. “Risky heat days are days with temperatures hotter than 90% of the temperatures recorded in a local area from 1991-2020.” Venezuela, Indonesia, and the Philippines were other countries substantially affected. 

Heat is among the largest weather-related causes of death worldwide, although its effects are not well understood compared to hurricanes and floods. “The WHO conservatively projects 250,000 additional yearly deaths by the 2030s due to climate change impacts on diseases like malaria and coastal flooding. However, modeling challenges persist, especially around capturing risks like drought and migration pressures.”

Heat Illnesses

Heat risk has also been identified as a weather killer in the US, although data collection is weak. Often, the cause of death in heat-related fatalities is listed as illnesses the heat causes. Several hundred people died in Phoenix last year when the temperature rose above 100 degrees over 100 days in a row. Even local officials said the numbers were incorrect.

Another point that most scientists make about heat-related diseases and deaths is that they will rise because of global warming.

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