Key facts
- The Lancet Countdown report linked 19,338 deaths in China in 2025 to heat waves.
- That toll was 70% above the annual average for 1986 through 2005, per the report.
- The report said rising temperatures are cutting working hours and disrupting sleep in China.
- The 2026 China report is the project's seventh annual assessment of the country.
Heat waves were linked to 19,338 deaths in China in 2025, 70% above the annual average for 1986 through 2005, according to the 2026 China report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. The findings were published in The Lancet Public Health.