The Climate Crisis is Another PHEIC (Pronounced FAKE)

Conspiracy or coincidence?

The Guardian (yes indeed) reports on the morning of May 16th 2026 that the World Health Organisation (yes indeed) – no, let me quote the headline, as it is in the imperative mood. You know, imperative: the mood of emperors:

‘Declare climate crisis a global public health emergency, experts tell WHO’

That is the headline. The text begins:

The climate crisis should be declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organisation, or millions more people will die unnecessarily, leading international experts have said.

The independent pan-European commission on climate and health, which was convened by the WHO, concluded the climate crisis was such a worldwide threat to health that the WHO should declare it “a public health emergency of international concern” (Pheic).

That is as far as I got. Now, I have heard of ‘PHEIC’ before. It was used during COVID-19. On January 30th 2020, COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of international concern. A PHEIC. But until now I had never asked myself how PHEIC is pronounced. Scales fell from my eyes. It is pronounced FAKE.