Climate change more dangerous than cancer: UNDP

UNITED NATIONS: UNDP and the Climate Impact Lab have released a new study showing that in some parts of the world, the health effects of climate change might be up to twice as fatal as cancer if carbon emissions continue to rise their current rates.

The study cites Dhaka, Bangladesh, as an example of a city where the number of deaths attributable to climate change could nearly double the current annual death rate from all cancers in the country and tenfold the annual road traffic fatalities by 2100.

Based on the assessments of 2020, 2021, and 2022 Human Development Reports and supplied by an evolving stream of cutting-edge research, the data illustrates how climate change might affect people's lives, including mortality, livelihoods, and energy use. Although increasing temperatures and a warmer climate create stress on cardiovascular and pulmonary systems everywhere, the effects will differ depending on whether a community can adapt.

The study indicates that climate change could raise mortality rates in Faisalabad, Pakistan, by close to 67 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, causing more deaths than strokes, the country's third largest cause of death. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, increasing revenues could keep the death rate at 35 per 100,000, which is still higher than Alzheimer's disease, the sixth largest cause of death worldwide.

According to the findings, the earth's average temperature has risen by almost 1.2°C since the late 19th century, altering the entire planet's surface. However, billions of people live in locations where warming has already exceeded the world average. In the 1990s, Maracaibo, Venezuela, experienced an average of 62 days per year, with temperatures surpassing 35 degrees Celsius. However, by the middle of the century, this number will certainly increase to 201.