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, was conducted by researchers at Mamoa University in Hawaii, who conducted a systematic search studying the impact of climate change on human disease.

These included warming, drought, heat waves, extreme rainfall, floods, storms, sea level rise, biogeochemical changes and land cover change,

By analyzing over 70,000 scientific studies for examples directly linking disease to 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.

Climate brings dangers closer

Specifically, the researchers found that risks associated with climate change bring pathogens closer to humans, with warmer temperatures and wetter environments, coupled with increased rainfall, favoring the spread of mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, birds and mammals that are responsible for the spread of some viruses and bacteria.

Mosquitoes, in particular, have found a breeding ground due to floods and storms, causing, in turn, the growth of pathogens that create "Nile fever" and "yellow fever".

But climate change is also bringing people closer to pathogens, Telegrafi reports.

As extreme weather events cause the displacement and forced migration of thousands of people in some of the most vulnerable parts of the world, contact between humans and pathogens is increasing.

Researchers have linked heat waves to an increase in the spread of water-borne diseases such as Vibrio (infections caused by bacteria) and gastroenteritis, while storms, floods and sea level rise have been linked to the spread of cholera, pneumonia, typhus, hepatitis and respiratory diseases and skin diseases, among others.

Our weaker immune system

Pathogens themselves are becoming stronger to adapt to the changing weather, while our body's immune response is weakened due to the increased stress of hazardous conditions, unsafe living situations and uncertain access to health care that they experience. people after an extreme weather event.

"Given the far-reaching and widespread consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was truly frightening to discover the massive health vulnerability resulting from greenhouse gas emissions," Camilo Mora, a professor of geography in the College of Social Sciences (CSS ) and author of the study.

"There are too many diseases and transmission routes for us to think we can really adapt to climate change.

This underlines the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the global level," he declared.

But there is also some positive news that came to light in the report.

People lack time to adjust

While the vast majority of diseases have worsened due to extreme events associated with climate change, some have actually improved.

Those viruses and pathogens that cannot survive in warmer temperatures have gone 'extinct'.

It is unlikely that humans will be able to adapt in time to cope with these stronger and more widespread diseases, the report's authors suggest.

"With climate change affecting more than 1,000 transmission pathways and climate risks increasingly global, we concluded that expecting societies to successfully adapt to all of them is not a realistic option." write the authors of the study in an article published in The Conversation.

"The world will need to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that are driving climate change to reduce these risks," they conclude.

In addition to looking at infectious diseases, the researchers expanded their research to look at all types of human diseases, including non-infectious diseases such as asthma, allergies and even animal bites to see how many diseases could be linked to climate risks, including infectious diseases.

They found a total of 286 unique diseases, and of those, 223 appeared to be exacerbated by climate hazards, nine were reduced by climate hazards, and 54 had both aggravated and minimized cases, the study found.

The new study doesn't make calculations to attribute specific disease changes, likelihood or magnitude to climate change, but finds cases where extreme weather was a likely factor among many.