A new study published on Nature Climate Change has found out that 58% (that is, 218 out of 375) of infectious diseases confronted by humanity worldwide have been at some point aggravated by climatic hazards.
Empirical cases used in the study revealed 1,006 unique pathways in which climatic hazards, via different transmission types, led to pathogenic diseases.
The ongoing emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is intensifying numerous climatic hazards of the Earth’s climate system, which in turn can exacerbate human pathogenic diseases.
The societal disruption caused by pathogenic diseases, as clearly revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic, provides worrisome glimpses into the potential consequences of looming health crises driven by climate change.
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It is increasingly recognized that the emission of GHGs has consequences on a multitude of climatic hazards of the Earth’s system (for example, warming, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, extreme precipitation, floods, sea level rise and so on; Fig.
Habitat disruptions caused by warming, drought, heatwaves, wildfires, storms, floods and land cover change were also associated with bringing pathogens closer to people. Spillovers from viruses (for example, Nipah virus and Ebola), for instance, were associated with wildlife (for example, bats, rodents and primates) moving over larger areas foraging for limited food resources caused by drought or finding new habitats following wildfires.
Drought also caused the congregation of mosquitoes and birds around remaining water sources facilitating the transmission of West Nile virus. Floods and storms were commonly associated with wastewater overflow, leading to the direct and foodborne transmission of noroviruses, hantavirus, hepatitis and Cryptosporidium.
The research suggested urgent need to work at the source of the problem, which is to reduce GHG emissions.
