Has the World Made Any Real Progress on Extreme Heat?

"In the decade since the Paris climate agreement was hammered out, countries have made only halting efforts toward meeting the accord's goal of limiting global warming. But even that modest progress means that the world will have to deal with far less extreme heat in the future than it otherwise would. This is a clear example, climate experts say, of why it is important to push forward with even imperfect progress."

"They are already the deadliest weather-related killer, and that trend is accelerating. Deaths in the U.S. related to extreme heat have jumped by 53 percent over the last decade compared with a 7 percent increase in deaths related to cold, according to recent study in JAMA Network Open. And globally, heat-related deaths have risen by 63 percent since the 1990s, according to The 2025 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change."

In the decade since the Paris Agreement, countries have made only halting efforts to meet the accord's goal of limiting global warming. Even modest mitigation reduces future extreme heat compared with no action. COP30 participants emphasize the importance of advancing imperfect progress to limit heat impacts. Global warming is making heat waves more frequent, longer-lasting and more intense worldwide. Heat is already the deadliest weather-related hazard and deaths are accelerating: U.S. extreme-heat deaths rose 53 percent in the last decade while global heat-related deaths increased 63 percent since the 1990s. The Paris accord committed 194 countries to keep warming well below 2°C.

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