Record levels of heat-related deaths in 2023 due to climate crisis, report finds

Impact of a drought in Spain in March 2023. Higher temperatures mean 151m more people faced moderate or severe food insecurity that year. Photograph: Paola de Grenet/The Guardian

Heat-related deaths, food insecurity and the spread of infectious diseases caused by the climate crisis have reached record levels, according to a landmark report.

The Lancet Countdown’s ninth report on health and the climate breakdown reveals that people across the world face unprecedented threats to their health from the rapidly changing climate.