Riccardo Liguori UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres launches an urgent appeal to tackle the climate crisis, protect the most vulnerable, protect workers, strengthen the resilience of economies and abandon fossil fuels
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xtreme heat is a silent but highly effective killer, causing nearly 500,000 deaths annually.
The summer of 2024 set a new record: on July 22, the global average temperature reached 62.9°F, surpassing the previous record set just a year ago. This is not just a statistical figure but a clarion call from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres: “The Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere.”
A heat epidemic
Today, billions of people are grappling with increasingly intense and often deadly heatwaves. This “heat epidemic” poses not only a threat to human health but also to the environment and the economy, widening inequalities and hindering the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that unbearable temperatures, exceeding 104°F, are becoming more frequent.
Between July 2023 and July 2024, at least ten countries recorded temperatures above 122°F. These include: Death Valley (USA), Tepache (Mexico), Agadir (Morocco), Hassi-Messaoud (Algeria), Arafat (Saudi Arabia), Abadan (Iran), Jahra (Kuwait), Sindh (Pakistan), Churu (India), and Sanbao (China).
Projections for the future add another element: by 2050, many regions of the world could regularly experience extreme temperatures, rendering some areas uninhabitable.
Cities and the urban heat island problem
Cities, where over half the world’s population lives, are particularly vulnerable. The “urban heat island” effect amplifies the impact of heatwaves, with temperatures several degrees higher than surrounding areas. According to some IPCC models, many cities will become places where extreme temperatures persist for almost half the year.
Economic and social impacts
Extreme heat has a devastating impact on the global economy, primarily through reduced worker productivity. In 2022, the loss of work capacity due to heat caused an average potential income loss of $863 billion. This figure could rise to $2.4 trillion by 2030, equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs lost.
Beyond this issue, extreme heat strains healthcare systems, disrupts education, damages agriculture, and exacerbates social inequalities.
The UN’s call to action
In response to this crisis, the UN has issued an urgent call to limit the global temperature increase to 2.7°F.
“If there is one thing that unites our divided world, it is that we all feel increasingly the heat. The Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere. Billions of people are facing an epidemic of extreme heat, wilting under ever more intense heatwaves, with temperatures exceeding 122°F around the globe. That’s 50 degrees Celsius. And halfway to boiling,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a recent press conference.
“Extreme heat is the new abnormal. But the good news is that we can save lives and limit its impact. Today, we launch a global call to action focused on four areas,” Guterres continued.
Guterres’ four priorities
1. Protecting the Most Vulnerable – The poor living in large cities without access to home cooling systems, along with pregnant women, people with disabilities, the elderly, very young children, the sick, and displaced persons are the most exposed to the impacts of heatwaves. Guterres highlighted that heat-related deaths among people over 65 have increased by 85% in 20 years.
“UNICEF tells us that nearly 25% of all children today are exposed to frequent heatwaves. By 2050, this percentage could rise to almost 100%. And the number of urban poor living in extreme heat conditions could increase by 700%. Extreme heat amplifies inequalities, increases food insecurity, and pushes people further into poverty.”
To address this issue, the UN Secretary-General stressed the urgency of increasing access to low-carbon cooling, enhancing passive cooling through green areas and urban design, and making cooling systems more sustainable and efficient.
“The UN Environment Programme estimates that, overall, these measures could protect 3.5 billion people by 2050, while reducing emissions and saving consumers $1 trillion annually.
It is also crucial to strengthen the protection of the most vulnerable, in line with the Early Warning Systems for All initiative.”
The World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Organization estimate that the large-scale implementation of heat health warning systems in just 57 countries could save about 100,000 lives annually.
2. Protecting Workers – According to the International Labour Organization, over 70% of the global workforce, or 2.4 billion people, are now at high risk from extreme heat. In Asia and the Pacific, three out of four workers are now exposed to extreme heat. More than eight out of ten in the Arab States, more than nine out of ten in Africa.
Meanwhile, Europe and Central Asia are the regions where workforce exposure to excessive heat is increasing the fastest. The Americas are experiencing the most rapid rise in heat-related workplace injuries.
“All this is having a profound impact on people and the economy. Excessive heat causes nearly 23 million work injuries worldwide. And when daily temperatures exceed 93.2°F, work productivity drops by 50%.”
“We need worker protection measures based on human rights. We must ensure that laws and regulations reflect the reality of today’s extreme heat and are enforced,” said Guterres.
3. Strengthening Economic and Social Resilience with Data and Science – “Extreme heat affects almost every area: infrastructure collapses, crops fail, and pressure increases on water supplies, healthcare systems, and power grids. Cities are particularly concerning: they are heating up twice as fast as the global average.”
Therefore, Guterres suggested that cities need comprehensive and tailored heat action plans, based on the most reliable data and scientific knowledge. “We need a concerted effort to protect economies, critical sectors, and the built environment from heat.”
4. Saying Goodbye to Fossil Fuels – “Today, our focus is on the impact of extreme heat. But let’s not forget there are many other devastating symptoms of the climate crisis: ever more violent hurricanes, floods, droughts, fires, and rising sea levels,” explained the UN Secretary-General.
“To tackle all these symptoms, we must fight the disease. The disease is the madness of incinerating our only home. The disease is the addiction to fossil fuels. The disease is inaction on climate. Leaders at all levels must wake up and step up. Countries must phase out fossil fuels, quickly and fairly. They must end new coal projects. The G20 must shift fossil fuel subsidies to renewables and support vulnerable countries and communities. And national climate action plans must show how each country will contribute to the global goals agreed at COP28 to triple renewable energy capacity worldwide and end deforestation by 2030,” Guterres clarified.
In concluding his speech, the UN Secretary-General highlighted the role of finance. “Acting on climate also requires action at the financial level. This includes bringing countries together to secure a strong financial outcome from COP29; progress on innovative financing sources; a drastic increase in the lending capacity of multilateral development banks to help developing countries tackle the climate crisis; and richer countries fulfilling all their climate finance commitments.”
