COP31: Climate, health take centre stage as funders mobilise over $375 million

The leaders urged governments at COP31 to prioritise sustained investments in climate observations, data systems and early warning infrastructure.

Climate change and its sweeping impact on human health are expected to feature prominently in discussions at the ongoing 31st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, as global health and climate funders mobilise more than $375 million to address climate-related health challenges.

The announcement comes amid fresh warnings from international climate and health pundits that rising global temperatures, worsening extreme weather events and soaring greenhouse gas concentrations are heaping unprecedented pressure on public health systems.

In Nigeria and several other countries worldwide, surging temperatures have fuelled public health concerns in recent years. The emergence of El Niño—a natural climate pattern marked by the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean —is also stoking worries among world leaders.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Climate Change, said the world is witnessing dangerous heat levels that expose hundreds of millions of people to extreme temperatures.

“As today’s important data from the WMO shows, the world is getting dangerously hot. Hundreds of millions of people are exposed to extreme heat across Southern Asia,” Mr Stiell said.

He said heatwaves during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer broke temperature records and killed an estimated 50,000 people across Europe.

According to him, climate change has evolved into a global health crisis, with consequences ranging from toxic air pollution and extreme heat to climate-related disasters that overwhelm health systems and critical infrastructure.

Mr Stiell identified the effects of rising temperatures on pregnancy, newborns and maternal health as another emerging health disaster linked to climate change.

He attributed the worsening situation to continued dependence on fossil fuels and deforestation, warning that the consequences are becoming increasingly dangerous for vulnerable populations.

“The impacts of rising heat on pregnancy, newborns and maternal health are another unfolding health disaster which has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it,” he said.

He added that health will remain central to COP31 discussions, guided by Türkiye and Australia, building on the progress made at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

The UN climate chief also highlighted the Climate & Health Funders Coalition, which he said has already awarded more than $200 million to back climate and health interventions before the latest funding announcement.

Mr Stiell said practical solutions, including electrification and the transition to clean energy, are crucial to reducing climate-related health risks and the economic pressures associated with fossil fuel dependence.

He urged governments to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy, warning that continued reliance on fossil fuels will expose households, businesses and governments, including health systems, to soaring costs.

Also speaking, Celeste Saulo, the secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said the organisation’s State of the Climate Update 2026 presented fresh evidence of an accelerating climate crisis.

She remarked that the past 12 years have been the warmest on record, while the past four years, including 2026, are the four warmest years recorded.

According to her, the global average temperature between January and September 2026 was approximately 1.47 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average.

Ms Saulo observed that temperatures could rise further before the end of the year due to a strong El Niño event, adding that its greatest impact on global temperatures is likely to be felt in 2027.

She said the current El Niño is unusually strong, with forecasts indicating that sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific could approach four times the threshold used by the WMO to declare an El Niño event between November 2026 and January 2027.

The WMO chief also disclosed other alarming indicators, including ocean heat touching a record high for the tenth year in a row and sea levels jumping to unprecedented levels.

She said rising sea levels are increasing the risks facing approximately 900 million people living along low-lying coastal areas.

Ms Saulo added that millions of people experienced dangerous heat in 2026, contributing to tens of thousands of excess deaths in Europe alone, while India, Pakistan and large parts of Asia and North America also experienced severe heatwaves.

She further cited devastating floods in parts of South America and Africa, droughts across parts of Asia, the Pacific and Central America, and catastrophic high-mountain disasters in China and Nepal.

Despite the worsening situation, she said progress is being made in strengthening early warning systems.

According to her, the number of countries reporting multi-hazard early warning systems increased from 56 in 2015 to 136 in 2025.

She urged governments at COP31 to prioritise sustained investments in climate observations, data systems and early warning infrastructure.

“We cannot afford to fly blind,” she said, stressing the need for urgent decisions and funding to address the growing climate threat.

Similarly, Alan Dangour, director of climate and health at Wellcome, said the latest WMO climate assessment demonstrates the magnitude of the threat posed by rising greenhouse gas concentrations, record-breaking temperatures, melting sea ice and rising sea levels.

He said the effects of climate change are increasingly being felt by people across the world, yet human health remains insufficiently prioritised in international climate negotiations.