Climate change and glacier melting: risks for unusual outbreaks?

Abstract

Climate change can have catastrophic effects on human societies, and its detrimental effects on health are no exception.1 Approximately 58% (218 of the 375) of infectious diseases that humanity has ever encountered have been exacerbated by climatic changes. Empirical cases highlight 1006 different ways in which climate change paves the way for a spectrum of diseases.1 Of all yardsticks of climate change, glacier ice is regarded as the most effective one, as glacier ice contains enormous amounts of information, and these data, including microbiology, aid in revealing paleoclimatic histories and forecasting the course of climate change. A special report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that anthropogenic activities have increased the global temperature by ~1°C since the pre-industrial era. This current rate would precipitate an increase in global temperature by 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052, thereby resulting in the melting of the glaciers.2 The risks stemming from the 1.5°C increase in temperature and their detrimental effects on health are now well reported.3

Topics & Concepts