heat-stress-and-mortality

The chapter 'Heat Death' from David Wallace-Wells' 'The Uninhabitable Earth' details the lethal consequences of global warming on human survivability, focusing on the critical role of wet-bulb temperature and the increasing frequency and intensity of deadly heat waves worldwide. It emphasizes that even moderate warming will render large parts of the globe uninhabitable, with dire health impacts and socio-political challenges, while highlighting that the trajectory of climate change is ultimately determined by human political will and emissions decisions. The chapter critiques the global failure to act decisively despite available technologies and international agreements like the Paris Accord.