Secretary-General's Call to Action on Extreme Heat

Crippling heat is everywhere. Billions of people around the world are wilting under increasingly severe heatwaves driven largely by a fossil-fuel charged, human-induced climate crisis. More than 70 per cent of the global workforce – 2.4 billion people – are now at high risk of extreme heat. The most vulnerable communities are hit hardest.

In response to the rapid rise in the scale, intensity, frequency and duration of extreme heat, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for an urgent and concerted effort to enhance international cooperation to address extreme heat.

In the face of scorching heat domes and raging wildfires, the Secretary-General renewed his appeal in July 2026 for action in four areas:

1. Protect people before heat becomes deadlier.
2. Make work safer.
3. Build and retrofit for the heat that is coming.
4. Stop fueling the crisis.