Overview
- Heat-related mortality now averages about 546,000 deaths a year, up 23% since the 1990s, with 2024 delivering a record surge in dangerous hot days.
- Air pollution linked to fossil fuels causes roughly 2.5 million deaths annually, and wildfire smoke was associated with a record 154,000 deaths in 2024.
- Extreme heat drove an estimated 639 billion lost labor hours in 2024, costing about US$1 trillion globally, with India alone losing 247 billion hours and US$194 billion.
- Governments paid about US$2.5 billion per day in fossil-fuel subsidies in 2023 as major producers increased projected output through March 2025 and top banks lent US$611 billion to the sector in 2024.
- The report flags rising disease risks such as a 49% increase in dengue transmission potential since the 1950s, warns adaptation finance remains grossly insufficient, and notes coal declines prevented about 160,000 premature deaths per year during 2010–2022.