A recent article posted to the journal Nature Climate Change showed that climate change could worsen nearly 50% of known human hazardous diseases.

The ongoing emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is worsening human pathogenic disorders. The researchers meticulously looked for empirical data to show how ten climate variables susceptible to GHG emissions affected each documented human pathogenic condition. Drought, warmth, wildfires, heat waves, floods, precipitation, sea level rise, storms, land cover change, and ocean climate change were the 10 GHG-sensitive climatic hazards examined in the study.

The authors identified 3,213 practical situations where infectious diseases were linked to climatic hazards. These case studies were associated with 286 different pathogenic disorders, 277 of which worsen by at least one climate risk.

The scientists′ reported that climatic hazards could aggravate 218 of 375 pathogenic diseases known to have affected humans. The team identified 1,006 distinct routes by which climate hazards caused pathogenic illness through various modes of transmission.

Overall, the team′s research revealed that climatic hazards aggravate 58% of infectious diseases that affect people worldwide at some point. They emphasized the importance of addressing the problem′s primary source, which is reducing GHG emissions. (News-medical.net, Aug 10 2022)