Deaths worldwide from the coronavirus have now topped four million.

Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the United States show the global COVID-19 deaths stood at 4,000,929 as of 6:00 a.m. UTC on Thursday.

The United States tops the list with 606,218 deaths, followed by Brazil with 528,540, India with 404,211, and Mexico with 233,958.

It took 250 days for the toll to reach one million, 108 days to reach two million, 93 days to reach three million, and 82 days to reach four million. The pace continues to accelerate.

The World Health Organization has warned of an increase in the COVID-19 fatalities in Southeast Asia in recent months.

Data released by the WHO show that as of mid-April, 237,832 coronavirus patients had died in the region, accounting for about 8 percent of the global deaths. The number increased to 495,939 at the beginning of July. The ratio also rose to 12 percent.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference on Wednesday, "Compounded by fast moving variants and shocking inequity in vaccination, far too many countries in every region of the world are seeing sharp spikes in cases and hospitalization."

He said, "This is leading to an acute shortage of oxygen, treatments and driving a wave of death in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America."

The WHO chief called for fair distribution of vaccines and cautioned nations with high vaccination coverage not to rush to lifting anti-virus measures.