The climate crisis isn’t a future problem. It’s a now problem. These nine charts from a new `Lancet` report paint a devastating picture of how climate change is already imperiling human health 1/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
Bad news: Greenhouse gas emissions are going UP. Fossil fuel emissions rose by 2.6% from 2016 to 2018. This graph looks at the carbon intensity of the total primary energy supply in certain regions and countries, and global energy-related CO2 emissions 2/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp 
Meanwhile, road transportation is still dominated by fossil fuels. Biofuels and electric power are starting to make a dent, but their impact remains far too small 3/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
This is what inaction looks like—in cold, hard cash. In 2018 the world suffered $166 billion US in losses from extreme events related to climate change. If we fail to cut greenhouse gas emissions, these numbers will only rise 4/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
We also have a crop conundrum: as the climate warms, yields decline. For each 1 degree Celsius increase in global mean temperature, corn yields will fall an average of 7.4 percent, wheat by 6 percent, and rice by 3.2 percent 5/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
And here come the diseases. Climate change is increasing the risk of contracting dengue, transmitted by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Nine of the 10 most suitable years for the transmission of dengue have been in the last decade 6/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
We’re also getting scorched by heat waves. This chart shows the change in the number of heatwave exposure events for people 65+ years since 2000. In 2018 there were 220 million heat wave exposures globally—a new record 7/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
Of course, drier, warmer weather also leads to drier brush, which fuels supercharged wildfires. This map shows the average annual number of days people were exposed to wildfires in 2018 8/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
A hotter world also increases the risk of workers getting heat stroke, forcing them to work fewer hours. This graph looks at the potential global work hours lost per sector due to heat. In 2018 alone, 133.6 billion hours were lost globally 9/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
And then there’s air conditioning. AC units save lives, but also use a massive amount of power and release heat as a byproduct. The world’s air-conditioning stock more than doubled to 1.6 billion units between 2000 and 2016 10/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
Clearly, the situation is dire. But it’s not too late to reverse some of these trends or dodge the worst outcomes. Understand the problem, and we can better see the solutions.
Go here for more on `The Lancet’s’ latest report 11/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
Go here for more on `The Lancet’s’ latest report 11/ wired.trib.al/64E9OXp
