Pollen season in UK and mainland Europe extended by climate breakdown

Compiled by 65 researchers from 46 academic and UN institutions, the Lancet Countdown tracks trends in climate change and health with 43 indicators. The latest iteration uses methodologies from peer-reviewed research to update established indicators with the latest data.

The researchers found heat deaths had increased over the study period by an average of 52 deaths per million people, while daily extreme heat warnings had quadrupled. Climate breakdown has helped infectious diseases to spread, with the potential for transmission of dengue thought to have more than tripled in recent decades.

In the past decade, 983 of 1,435 European regions experienced an increase in the length of “extreme to exceptional” summer drought compared with the four decades before, the report found.

The authors said the findings underscored the “urgent” need to adapt to a hotter planet. They highlighted measures such as greening cities and providing public health guidance that accounted for heat-related risks when people are physically active, as well as diverting subsidies from fossil fuels into clean energy.

Annual fossil fuel subsidies reached a new high in 2023 compared with 2010, the report found, rising to €444bn after governments tried to cushion the shock of soaring energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Cathryn Tonne, an environmental epidemiologist at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and co-director of the report, said the “window for action” was narrowing but that Europe still had an opportunity to protect lives.

“Redirecting investments from fossil fuels into clean energy, improving air quality, safeguarding vulnerable groups and preparing health systems for rising climate shocks will deliver immediate and long‑term health benefits.”

Not all of the trends the researchers examined have worsened. The death rate attributable to fine particle pollution from transport in the EU fell by 58% between 2000 and 2022. Deaths from pollution caused by electricity generation fell even faster, with an 84% drop.

“It’s a huge change,” said Rocklov. “It shows we can really benefit from the transition away from fossil fuels, and we can do it in a short time.”