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Very Strong El Niño Episodes Are Associated with over 100,000 Additional Heat-Related Deaths Worldwide per Year
The study says tropical and lower-income regions face the largest heat-death increases, while cold-death declines partly offset the global total.
- A study in the medical journal Nature Medicine links very strong El-Nino Southern Oscillation episodes to 107,035 additional annual heat-related deaths. These increases are offset by a similar reduction in cold-related deaths per year compared with neutral conditions.
- Countries with a Human Development Index account for 61,863 of additional annual heat-related deaths, representing 58% of the Global increase. These nations face greater risks due to limited resources for climate-driven health impacts.
- Scientists analyzed mortality data from 3,331 regions across 189 countries, covering more than 8 billion people. This data examined trends between 1980 and 2023 to model temperature-related mortality linked to El-Nino Southern Oscillation intensity.
- Health preparedness could be improved through "coordinated action plans involving health authorities," ISGlobal researcher Joan Ballester Claramunt noted. He added that El-Nino Southern Oscillation effects extend beyond temperature anomalies to include extreme weather events like floods.
- While the study uses retrospective data, the Climate Impact Lab projects 451,000 additional global deaths for the ongoing 2026 El-Nino Southern Oscillation. Scientists emphasize that these results cannot directly predict specific outcomes.
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14 Articles
14 Articles
El Niño could reduce the number of cold-related deaths by more than a hundred thousand, while the number of heat-related deaths could also increase.
·Budapest, Hungary
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The research, based on mortality records and climate data from 1980 to 2023, analyzed 1,667 regions from 125 countries.
·Guayaquil, Ecuador
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The impact of this climate phenomenon is due to the least developed countries, which account for 67.65% of the increase in deaths due to extreme temperatures.
·Madrid, Spain
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An Eminence of the CSIC warns that El Niño can cause millions of deaths and trigger health and food crises
Coverage Details
Total News Sources14
Leaning Left2Leaning Right4Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Right
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources lean Right
45% Right
L 22%
C 33%
R 45%
Factuality
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