Climate change a chronic threat to public health

That climate change is becoming an increasingly bigger challenge for humankind was evident, more clearly than ever, in 2023 when average global temperatures rose 1.45 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, making it the warmest year since records began in 1850.

China, too, felt the heat, quite literally, due to the worsening climate change, as it experienced its hottest year on record, while also grappling with severe droughts and floods in some parts of the country.

The 2024 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change says climate change poses one of the greatest health risks to China today. The Lancet report also highlights the toll extreme weather events have taken on China's public health. In 2023, on average each person in China faced 16 days' exposure to heat waves, much above the historical average. Heat wave-related deaths surged nearly twofold, and the economic cost of lost labor due to heat reached a record $283.4 billion, or 1.65 percent of China's GDP. Not to mention that compound events such as droughts combined with heat waves have increased risks, exposing more people to health hazards and putting a strain on China's healthcare system.