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By Sharon Kimathi, Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital

Hello!

The cross-over between climate change and its impact on health is the focus of today’s newsletter as extreme heat waves have taken the lives of hundreds in India and Saudi Arabia this week.

An Indian health ministry official said there were more than 40,000 suspected heat stroke cases and at least 110 confirmed deaths between March 1 and June 18, when northwest and eastern India recorded twice the usual number of heat wave days.

Billions across Asia are grappling with extreme heat this summer in a trend scientists say has been worsened by human-driven climate change, with temperatures in north India soaring to almost 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in one of the longest heat wave spells recorded.

Birds fell from the skies due to extreme heat and hospitals reported an inflow of heat-affected patients as both day and night time temperatures peaked in recent weeks since the start of summer in March.

The health ministry ordered federal and state institutions to ensure “immediate attention” to patients, while hospitals in the capital Delhi, which is also facing a water shortage, were directed to make more beds available.

Also on my radar today:

Muslims sit under the shade and wait for the start of prayers at a mosque on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha festival, in Ahmedabad, India. REUTERS/Amit Dave

The heat wave gripping northern India has killed nearly 200 homeless people in New Delhi over the last week, a group dedicated to helping the homeless said on Thursday.

A total of 192 homeless people died in New Delhi between June 11 and June 19, according to government figures shared by non-profit organization Centre for Holistic Development, higher than in previous years.

“The poorest bear the cost of such climate change. Most of these people live below flyovers and out in the open and have no protection against the heat. These are mostly heat wave deaths,” Sunil Kumar Aledia, who runs CHD, told Reuters.

In Saudi Arabia, hundreds of visitors have died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca amid scorching heat, according to press reports and foreign ministries.

Egypt alone has registered 307 deaths of its citizens during the pilgrimage to Mecca and another 118 missing, medical and security sources told Reuters, as temperatures at times soared past 51 degrees Celsius (124 Fahrenheit).

A witness said bodies lay on the side of the road near Mina, just outside Mecca, covered with the white Ihram cloth – a simple garb worn by pilgrims – until medical vehicles arrived.

Pakistani pilgrim Mustafa said he had to push his 75-year-old mother in a wheelchair. When they tried to rest, they were told by police to keep moving, he said. “I was amazed to see that there were no efforts made by the Saudi government to provide any shelter or any water,” Mustafa said.

Saudi Arabia’s government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

With extreme heat gripping much of the Northern Hemisphere this week, authorities and public health experts have issued heat warnings to help keep people safe.

Parts of China, India, the Middle East, southern Europe and the United States are bracing for the possibility of new record high temperatures.

Heat affects health in several ways. Heat exhaustion can include dizziness, headaches, shaking and thirst. Heatstroke happens when the body’s core temperature goes above 40.6 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit), which leads to a medical emergency and can lead to long-term organ damage and death.

Click here for the full Reuters explainer on how extreme heat threatens health and safety. 

A street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the civil war in Sudan. Residents in the city have found themselves besieged and trapped in their homes. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig 

Katie de Kauwe, Friends of the Earth lawyer, shares her thoughts on the UK Supreme Court case which ruled that Surrey County Council had acted unlawfully by giving planning permission for oil production at Horse Hill in the Surrey countryside without considering the climate impacts: 

“This historic ruling is a watershed moment in the fight to stop further fossil fuel extraction projects in the UK and make the emissions cuts needed to meet crucial climate targets. It is a huge boost to everyone involved in resisting fossil fuel projects.

“Gas, oil and coal companies have been fighting tooth and nail to avoid having to account for all the climate-harming emissions their developments cause. 

“Now, the highest court in the country has ruled that planning permission for an oil project was granted unlawfully because there was no consideration of its full climate impact.

“This judgment will make it harder for new fossil fuel projects to go ahead. 

“They can no longer claim that downstream emissions are someone else’s problem. Now, when fossil fuel companies apply for planning permission, it follows from the Supreme Court’s judgment, that the end-use emissions must be considered by the planning authority. 

“This is a stunning victory for Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group, after nearly five years of grit and determination, in going to court year after year against adversaries with far greater financial resources than they have.

“Despite setbacks in the lower courts, they never gave up. Friends of the Earth is incredibly proud to have supported Sarah and this groundbreaking challenge through all its legal stages.” 

Ukendo, a male Iberian lynx is released with other four lynxes, as part of the European project ‘Life LynxConnect’ to recover this species near Granada, southern Spain REUTERS/Jon Nazca

Today’s spotlight shines a light on some positive animal conservation developments for the near-extinct Iberian Lynx.

A species of lynx found in remote areas of Spain and Portugal has rebounded from near extinction, with its adult population growing more than tenfold since the start of the millennium.

Wildlife experts are calling the recovery of the Iberian Lynx unparalleled among felines in an age of extinction in which species are vanishing at a rate not seen in 10 million years due to climate change, pollution and habitat loss.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, which categorizes species according to the level of risk they face in a “Red List” produced several times a year, bumped up the Iberian Lynx from “endangered” to “vulnerable”.

There were just 62 adult lynxes scattered across Mediterranean forests in 2001 but the population jumped to around 648 in 2022, IUCN said. Today, the population has risen to more than 2,000, counting both young and adult lynxes across a range of thousands of kilometers covering rocky mountainous areas and valleys.

Today’s Sustainable Switch was edited by Susan Fenton.

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