New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) Infants in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) now experience seven times more heatwave days than they did in the early 2000s, while older adults experience it five times more, according to a new Lancet report.
The second annual indicator report from the Lancet Countdown SIDS presents evidence across 28 indicators spanning climate-related health impacts, adaptation, mitigation, finance, and political engagement.
Authored by 30 authors from 25 academic institutions, the report highlights accelerating risks and underscores the urgent need for greater international support to build on action already underway.
“Heat is becoming one of the defining health challenges for Small Island Developing States. This report shows that protecting people from rising temperatures must now be a core priority for climate and health policy. We know what works – the challenge is ensuring that SIDS have the resources to implement solutions at the scale and speed that this crisis demands,” said Georgiana Gordon Strachan, Lancet Countdown SIDS Regional Director.
The report’s findings come as governments prepare to gather for the Pacific pre-COP meetings later this year, where climate ambition and finance will be central to discussions ahead of the next UN Climate Change Conference, COP31, in Türkiye.
“In 2024, ambient heat posed a record average of 3000 hours of moderate risk of heat stress during light outdoor exercise compared, and an estimated 4.4 billion work hours were lost to extreme heat in the same year – the highest single-year potential loss since tracking began in 1990.
“Climate change is also increasing the risk of dengue, chikungunya and other mosquito-borne climate-sensitive diseases, while prolonged drought has driven an additional 2.7 million people into moderate to severe food insecurity,” the report said.
Despite these growing challenges, the report documents important progress.
Solar photovoltaic capacity has more than doubled since 2020, early warning systems are improving, and deaths from extreme weather events have declined, it said.
All the same, the report said that adaptation efforts remain constrained by limited institutional capacity, fragmented climate finance, and insufficient health adaptation investment.
“Only 10 of 58 SIDS have developed dedicated national health and climate adaptation plans, and fewer than half of health systems are engaged in climate monitoring, which is a major component enabling surveillance of climate-sensitive health outcomes,” it said. PTI GJS VN VN
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