How Climate Change affects Disease

Neha Nalumasu
Jul 9, 2024
3 min read

Overview+Introduction

Imagine a world in which diseases we thought were confined to distant areas suddenly appeared on our doorstep? We may think that’s not possible, but our frightening reality says otherwise. The shifting of global climate patterns has been changing the way animals transmit diseases to humans. For one, migration. Due to the steady and continuing rise of global temperatures, over half of Earth’s species are starting to move to cooler northern areas- including many that are notorious for spreading disease. Mosquitoes are no exception. Killing one million people annually, these pesky insects have been voyaging as well, straight into human-inhabited areas.

Northward Migration

The general trend of rising temperatures has been pushing mosquitoes and other disease-transmitting organisms, out of hotter areas and into cooler ones. Historically, wealthy, developed countries like the United States have faced much less disaster from pathogen-carrying insects than developing nations. This is mostly due to higher financial ability, along with cooler temperatures. However, these insects likely go in search of areas that are less hot, making countries like the United States a predicted target for mosquito migration. Using the Paris Agreement as a benchmark, Stanford researchers show that even if the agreement’s conditions are met, disease-borne mosquitoes will continue to inch north, although at a slower rate than they would if the conditions were not met.

Effectiveness of Transmission

Unfortunately, global temperature rise poses more of a threat than just exposing more people to life-threatening viruses- warmer weather can also increase the transmission of diseases from carriers to humans. For example, malaria, a disease spread by mosquitoes, is most likely to spread at 78 degrees Fahrenheit. In cases of areas where temperatures are around that mark, increased temperatures could be a positive sign (in this specific context) because it could potentially become too hot for transmissions to be as effective. However, there’s another side to the story–areas that begin to approach the optimal point for transmissions will face significant risk, such as North America, Europe, and North Asia.

Paths of Action

So what exactly should be done about this? There are several paths of action to take to tackle this rising problem. The most obvious is stopping temperature rise, which we can do by reducing emissions. There are many components to this, including making more agreements like the Paris Agreement, preventing deforestation, and cutting down pollution. Another way to begin solving the problem would be through medical investments, which could protect exposed people from disease. However, this would be less effective than actually addressing the root cause because as put by researcher Erin Mordecai, “We’re going to be constantly playing whack-a-mole with whatever the new emerging disease is.” Another important course of action is research and raising awareness. By learning more about the diseases that climate change exposes us to, we can better predict what will happen and what we’ll need to do to solve them. We can also raise awareness to these environmental issues through social media, volunteering, or educational events. It’s clear that climate change is an urgent threat to our planet. It’s time to take action and do something.