Climate change is worsening over 200 diseases, study finds
2022-08-11 11:49:56
TiranaPost
More than 58 percent of human diseases have worsened due to climate change, according to a new study.
The groundbreaking research, published in Nature Climate Change on Monday, was conducted by researchers at Mamoa University of Hawaii.
Researchers conducted a systematic review of the impact of ten climate risks exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions.
These included warming, drought, heat waves, wildfires, extreme rainfall, floods, storms, sea level rise, biogeochemical change and land cover change.
By analyzing over 70,000 scientific papers for direct examples between known diseases and climate change, the scientists found that all extreme climate events had an impact on diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, animals, fungi and plants.
Out of 375 diseases analyzed, 218 were found to be affected by climate change.
Our weaker immune system
Pathogens themselves are becoming stronger in order to adapt to climate change, while our body's immune response is weakened due to the increased stress, unsafe living situations and uncertain access to health care that people experience after an event extreme weather.
