Scientists warn the world is dangerously unprepared for the rapid rise of extreme heat that the climate crisis is already delivering. A new major study finds that nearly 3.8 billion people could be exposed to extreme heat by 2050, and that even cooler regions — from Russia to Canada — face mounting heat exposure without adequate infrastructure or planning. This isn’t a distant future: the decade ahead will see the most severe impacts as global temperatures fast approach 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
But governments and markets have failed to act with the urgency required. Air conditioning, passive cooling systems, and heat-resilient infrastructure are woefully inadequate in the countries that will suffer the most — especially in the Global South, where the poorest bear the brunt and have the least capacity to adapt. Scientists stress this adaptation gap is not merely a technical gap, but a social and economic injustice driven by failed policies and corporate prioritisation of profit over people’s survival.
