Climate change deadlier than cancer in parts of world, including Pakistan: UNDP Data

United Nations, The Gulf Observer: The impact of climate change on health if carbon emissions remain high, could be up to twice as deadly as cancer in some parts of the world, including Pakistan, according to new data released by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Climate Impact Lab.
The data shows the need to act quickly, not only to mitigate climate change but also to adapt to its consequences.
For instance, in Faisalabad, Pakistan, even with moderate mitigation, additional deaths due to climate change would average 36 per 100,000 people each year between 2020-2039, according to the data. Without substantially expanding adaptation efforts, Faisalabad could expect annual climate change-related death rates to nearly double, reaching 67 deaths per 100,000 by mid-century. An increment almost as deadly as strokes, currently Pakistan’s third leading cause of death.
“As we face the punishing impacts of global climate change it can be easy to wonder whether efforts to reduce emissions by individual countries, states, or cities really make a difference. This platform shows the direct role these efforts play in shaping our collective future,” Climate Impact Lab’s Hannah Hess, Associate Director at Rhodium Group.
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, where under a scenario of very high emissions by 2100, additional deaths due to climate change could rise to nearly twice the country’s current annual death rate from all cancers, and 10 times its annual road traffic fatalities, according to the data.

In Jakarta, for example, electricity consumption in response to warmer temperatures is projected to increase by roughly one-third of current household consumption in Indonesia. This will require critical additional infrastructure planning.