Climate crisis could cause 10,000 extra UK deaths a year by 2050, says health body

Asian tiger mosquitos – which can transmit dengue, Zika and the chikungunya virus – have the potential to become established in most of England by the 2040s and 2050s. Photograph: frank600/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The climate crisis could cause up to 10,000 extra deaths in the UK every year by the 2050s as a result of extreme heat and bring a host of tropical diseases, a stark report has warned.

The worst-case scenario, published in a damning document by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Monday, would see average temperatures rise by 4.3C, bringing an estimated twelvefold rise in heat-related deaths by 2070. It adds that deaths could increase by one-and-a-half times in the 2030s.