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Climate change driving deadly heat, disasters across globe
The world’s failure to curb fossil fuel use and adapt to rising temperatures is costing millions of lives each year, according to two new major assessments. Scientists say worsening heat, air pollution and disease spread are endangering global health at unprecedented levels.
Heat-related deaths have risen 23% since the 1990s, with nearly 546,000 deaths each year now linked to extreme heat, according to The Lancet 2025 Countdown on Health and Climate Change, released Oct. 29 in conjunction with the World Health Organization.
In 2024 alone, wildfire smoke was tied to about 154,000 deaths worldwide, while air pollution from burning fossil fuels accounted for an estimated 2.5 million deaths. The report also noted that the global potential for dengue transmission has risen by nearly 50% since the 1950s.
A separate “state of the climate” analysis released in BioScience the same day noted that 2024 — the hottest year on record — was likely the hottest in at least 125,000 years. Greenhouse gas levels, ocean acidity and ice loss all reached record highs, with most global climate indicators trending in the wrong direction.
In the U.S., residents have faced a string of deadly and costly climate disasters in recent years. Hurricanes Helene and Milton battered the Southeast in 2024, leaving nearly 300 people dead and more than $110 billion in damage across multiple states. Wildfires across California in January 2025 damaged thousands of structures and forced nearly 200,000 residents to evacuate. A record heat wave in June 2025 scorched the eastern U.S., causing power outages and hundreds of heat-related illnesses, while flash flooding in Texas in July killed at least 135 people in a single weekend.
Both reports — which were released in advance of the 2025 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, which begins Nov. 10 — emphasized that continued overdependence on fossil fuels is worsening the climate crisis. Production and burning of coal, oil and gas are worsening air pollution, driving global warming and fueling more extreme weather.
The world is not only failing to cut emissions, but also falling behind in preparing for growing climate hazards, the researchers said. Health systems, housing and infrastructure remain ill-equipped for record heat, wildfires and storms that are intensifying worldwide.
Common jobs expose immigrant women to cancer-linked chemicals
Immigrant women in the U.S. are at high risk for on-the-job exposure to chemicals that can raise the possibility of developing breast cancer — and are less able to protect themselves, a new study reports.
Published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, the Silent Spring Institute-led study found immigrant women in the U.S. are most commonly employed as house cleaners, nurses, cashiers, janitors and health care aides. Immigrants make up a large share of workers in several service occupations, accounting for 71% of all manicurists and 41% of house cleaners, for example.
As part of their work, immigrant women are commonly exposed to chemicals such as cleaning agents, pesticides, phthalates, antimicrobials and alkylphenols, some of which are endocrine disruptors linked to breast cancer. Nail salon workers, janitors and others can inhale phthalates from fragranced products, while housekeeping staff may absorb alkylphenols from detergent and cleaning products.
Immigrant women who work as house cleaners and nurses face the highest potential chemical exposures, the study found. Women with lower education and limited English proficiency are more likely to work in high-exposure occupations.
Because of language barriers, immigration status and other obstacles, immigrant workers are often less likely to be able to protect themselves from on-the-job chemical exposure. They may also have difficulty accessing preventive screenings and treatment for breast cancer.
Pregnant women face higher health risks in states with abortion bans
As states tighten abortion laws, more women are suffering potentially dangerous pregnancy complications, a new study in the American Journal of Public Health reports.
Researchers found that states with laws banning abortion after a certain point in pregnancy had about a 10% higher rate of life-threatening complications during childbirth, including hemorrhage, organ failure, sepsis and other major medical emergencies. Researchers from Indiana University analyzed hospitalization data from 47 states from 2010 to 2022, finding that such laws raised the rate of severe complications by 7.7 cases per 10,000 patients.
The risks were greatest for older women, low-income patients and people covered by public insurance. Hospitals serving those patients, including safety-net facilities, saw the steepest increases. Researchers estimated that laws restricting abortion after a certain point in pregnancy were linked to nearly 3,000 additional hospitalizations for serious pregnancy complications in 2021 alone.
From 2010 to 2022, 27 states lowered the point in pregnancy at which abortion is allowed, with 19 banning the procedure after 20 weeks. The trend accelerated after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which removed federal protections for abortion rights and led some states to ban the procedure as early as six weeks.
More than 35,000 U.S. women experience serious pregnancy complications each year, costing an estimated $32 billion annually in medical expenses and ongoing care.
Other recent public health news of note:
• More than 1 in 150 U.S. births end in stillbirth each year — about 25,000 annually — a higher rate than previously reported, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Rates were even higher for women in low-income areas and in neighborhoods with more Black residents. Researchers said most cases involved at least one risk factor such as high blood pressure, diabetes or smoking.
• As air pollution levels rise, so do workplace injuries and deaths, according to new research in Energy Economics. When fine-particle air pollution doubles, workplace injury risks also soar, with 37% more fatalities and 51% more casualties. Researchers say polluted air impairs concentration, slows reaction times and leads to fatigue, increasing the likelihood of errors, particularly in high-risk jobs such as mining and construction.
• People living near the Fayetteville Works chemical plant in Wilmington, North Carolina, have high levels of “forever chemicals” in their blood, according to new findings in Environmental Science & Technology. The plant released per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances into the Cape Fear River, the region’s main drinking water source, for decades before discharge controls began in 2017.
The Watch is written by Michele Late, who has more than two decades of experience as a public health journalist.