Climate hazards like flooding, drought and wildfires are making known infectious diseases worse for people, according to a new study.
The research identified more than 1,000 pathways for events tied to climate change like extreme rainfall, sea level rise and heatwaves to make people sick, according to Jonathan Patz, one of the study’s co-authors.
“We’ve known for a long time the impacts of climate change,” said Patz, a professor with the Nelson Institute and Department of Population Health Sciences at UW-Madison, describing direct effects like heat waves and mosquito- and water-borne disease. “In this study, these viral and bacterial diseases show up as worsening from the effects of climate change.”