Asia, the world’s most populous continent, is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, according to the latest State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released on Monday. In 2024, Asia’s average temperature was about 1.04°C above the average for 1991 to 2020, ranking as […] Continue reading ->
The region of the Americas has seen eight times the number of yellow fever cases this year, compared to the same period in 2024. The vaccine-preventable, viral, mosquito-borne disease has surged as cases “spillover” from animals, according to a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) rapid risk assessment. Dense jungles in Colombia and Brazil have seen […] Continue reading ->
In Mongolia, where extreme winter cold spells, known as “Dzud”, are becoming more frequent due to climate change, these can spell death to people and animals. But in recent years, herders in remote regions can get up-to-date advance warnings of pending extremes, as well as detailed advice prompting them, for instance, to stock up on […] Continue reading ->
Cholera in Africa is being driven by years of under-investment in water and sanitation, according to the Africa Centres of Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Four countries – Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan and South Sudan – account for over 85% of the continent’s cholera cases and all have above-average death rates, […] Continue reading ->
Most countries’ climate action plans refer to the health benefits of adaptation and mitigation strategies, such as reduced air pollution, but few actually track them. And as World Environment Day is observed Thursday, global climate commitments remain extraordinarily weak. Only 21 countries out of the 195 parties to the UN Paris Agreement have submitted updated […] Continue reading ->
Over 30 health organizations representing 12 million doctors, nurses, and public health professionals globally have pledged to no longer work with advertising agencies that partner with the fossil fuel industry, citing conflicts of interest and the resulting health effects from industry disinformation campaigns. The organizations span five continents and include prominent groups such as Médecins […] Continue reading ->
Global temperatures are expected to remain near record levels over the next five years, and there is an 80% chance that at least one of the next five years will exceed 2024 as the warmest on record. This is the key takeaway from a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The temperature rise […] Continue reading ->
A new WHO Climate Change and Health Action plan was approved by a key World Health Assembly (WHA) Committee Tuesday evening – after hours of high-stakes, high-drama parliamentary maneuvers by a cluster of oil-rich World Health Organization (WHO) member states to shelve the plan failed. WHO member states accepted the original plan by a vote […] Continue reading ->
In an eleventh-hour move, World Health Assembly member states on Monday deferred a final vote on a draft WHO Action plan on Climate Change and Health until Tuesday morning – in an effort to find a last-minute compromise with a bloc of oil-rich states trying to put the plan on ice. The move followed a […] Continue reading ->
GENEVA – Although the past decade has seen progress in the fight against malnutrition, 148 million children remain stunted, 45 million suffer from wasting, and anaemia affects nearly one in three women globally, according to experts at the Geneva Health Forum (GHF). In 2023 alone, 733 million people experienced hunger—152 million more than in 2019—and […] Continue reading ->