COVID-19 may only be the beginning of global pandemics – a future scenario in which climate change may also play a role. A recent study paints a picture of a future where pandemics become more numerous.



What we are seeing looks very much like an acceleration of pandemics. Causes include deforestation, densely populated cities and markets where living animals are sold.



But climate change’s possible role is complicated: We know that the virus survives longer in cold temperatures than hot, so that could mean that a warmer planet would slow the spread of the disease. On the other hand, heat waves cause people to spend more time indoors in air-conditioned spaces, where the spread of the disease increases.



In addition, the diseases that worry us most globally and that are worsened by climate change are the ones spread by mosquitoes, since mosquitoes like it hot and wet – conditions that are becoming increasingly common because of global warming.

(154 Wörter)