A research team from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa conducted a study on the effects of 10 climate hazards sensitive to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on every known human pathogenic disease. These hazards include warming, drought, heat waves, wildfires, heavy rains, floods, storms, sea level rise, ocean biogeochemical change, and land cover change.
Researchers combined all known infections and pathogenic diseases that have so affected humanity with climatic hazards and sifted through hundreds of scientific papers to reveal examples. As a result of these studies and researches, it was revealed that more than half of the diseases could be aggravated due to climatic hazards.
Climate change has increased some diseases and decreased others.
The study found that warming, precipitation, flooding, drought, storms, land cover change, oceanic climate change, fires, heat waves and sea level changes all affect diseases triggered by viruses, bacteria, animals, fungi, protozoans, plants and chromists. . It has been revealed that pathogenic diseases are primarily transmitted by carriers, but can also be transmitted by water-borne, air-borne, direct contact and food-borne.
As a result of the research, it was revealed that more than 58% of known human pathogenic diseases, ie 218 out of 375, are affected by at least one climate hazard. The researchers also found that the vast majority of diseases were exacerbated by climate hazards, while some were reduced (63 of 286 diseases). In addition, the team launched an interactive website showing every link between climate hazard and a disease. This site allows users to inquire about specific hazards, diseases and see the evidence found.
The research team also notes that there is too much disease and transmission pathways for humanity to truly adapt to climate change, and that there is an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally.
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