Invisible on death certificates. WHO warns: mortality rate has increased by 30 percent.
- WHO warns that heatwaves in the organization's European region are becoming more frequent, more severe, and causing a 30% increase in mortality over two decades, with consequences affecting both physical and mental health.
- Seniors, people with disabilities, pregnant women, children and those working outdoors are most at risk, and the heat further strains hospitals, critical infrastructure and healthcare systems.
- Experts emphasize that the climate crisis is also a health crisis, and that actions to reduce emissions, expand green spaces, and adapt cities to high temperatures save lives and bring economic benefits.
- The authors of the appeal call on governments to immediately implement health protection plans against heat, redefine development indicators and adopt intersectoral recommendations as an urgent response to the crisis.
The letter is addressed to governments and health policymakers in the WHO European region, which encompasses 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia. The letter was signed by the Chair of the WHO Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health, former Prime Minister of Iceland, HE Katrin Jakobsdottir, and 12 other experts.
The signatories of the letter emphasized that extreme weather events, especially heat waves, are no longer a seasonal nuisance or a distant threat related to climate change.
- This is a public health emergency that is developing in real time - they wrote.
As they noted, the WHO European region is experiencing record heatwaves that are becoming more frequent, intense and deadly.
"Heat is not only burdensome, but also a silent killer. It takes its toll in the form of strokes, heart attacks, and respiratory failure, although this is often not reflected in death certificates, " the letter's signatories said.
The elderly, people with disabilities, and those living in substandard housing are particularly at risk. Pregnant women, young children, and people working outdoors are also exposed to dangerously high temperatures.
The effects of heat waves are not immediate:
- they affect people's lives,
- harm mental health and well-being,
- reduce productivity,
- they destroy crops,
- increase energy bills,
- burden key infrastructure.
They found that heat-related mortality has increased by 30% over the past two decades , with more than 100,000 deaths reported in 35 European countries in 2022 and 2023. And the number of deaths from high temperatures is expected to rise further in the coming years. June 2025 was the warmest month on record in Western Europe . Two severe heatwaves were recorded before the peak of summer.
At the same time, climate change is contributing to the spread of diseases that were once rare in the region – for example, the number of cases of locally transmitted dengue in the European Union/European Economic Area increased by 368% between 2022 and 2024.
Hospitals are also feeling the effects of high temperatures. During heatwaves, emergency departments see an increase in patient admissions, particularly for heart, lung, and kidney conditions.
Our mental health also suffers : sleep deteriorates, anxiety levels rise, and cognitive abilities decline. Furthermore, people with mental health issues are at greater risk of heatstroke and hospitalization, as some prescription medications impair the body's ability to regulate temperature.
Healthcare workers are at risk of heat exhaustion and burnout, while the cooling and IT systems that are supposed to support their work are overwhelmed. As experts have pointed out, two hospitals (Guy's Hospital and St. Thomas' Hospital in London) experienced critical infrastructure failures during the 2022 UK heatwave.
This confirms the urgent need for better preparedness at all levels of the healthcare system and other sectors of the state. Health-related action plans in response to heatwaves help save lives, protect the most vulnerable, and relieve hospitals. Accelerating the implementation of these plans must be a priority—not in a few years, but now, experts emphasized.
They pointed out that the climate crisis is also a health crisis , therefore actions to combat climate warming are also actions for health.
As they recalled, air pollution, which is strongly linked to the burning of fossil fuels, contributes to 500,000 premature deaths per year in the WHO European region. Reducing emissions means cleaner air and fewer deaths – potentially saving 5 million lives worldwide.
Increasing green spaces in cities, in turn, reduces exposure to high temperatures, improves mental health, and contributes to carbon dioxide absorption. Increasing urban green space by 30% could reduce heat-related deaths by up to 40%. All of this benefits public health and the economy.
These solutions are not only effective but also wise investments, the letter's signatories concluded. The problem, however, is that our economic systems fail to reward preventative measures . Traditional metrics like gross domestic product (GDP) overlook what's most important: the value of human and ecosystem health. Gross domestic product may increase when hospitals treat wildfire victims, but it doesn't account for the costs of these fires or the suffering they cause. It also fails to account for the benefits of climate action, experts pointed out.
"That's why we need new measures of progress that prioritize health, well-being, human equality, and sustainable development. Some countries are already redefining success by integrating health and climate into economic policy. Others must follow suit for the sake of human health and the health of our planet. Both are invaluable, and both are at risk," the letter reads.
The authors of the appeal announced that in the coming months they will present a set of bold, yet implementable, cross-sectoral recommendations aimed at addressing the climate crisis and protecting health.
"There is no time for half-measures. This is the time for extraordinary action," they concluded.
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