Climate Change Triggers Surge In Disease

The relationship between climate and disease continues to grow. The list includes heat-related illnesses and plastics that have entered the human body. The spread of infectious diseases can be added to that list. 

According to Inside Climate News, “For respiratory diseases, there’s always been this idea of “seasonality”—like how there’s a flu season, or a season for other respiratory viruses. What’s interesting is that for many of these viruses, we don’t fully understand why they’re seasonal or exactly how temperature and seasonal changes affect their transmission. But we know they do.”

Illness In America

Respiratory diseases are a major cause of death in America, so air quality is an issue. That means air pollution is an issue.

One problem is that insects that carry disease thrive in heat. Parts of the world are getting hotter each year. Floods and hurricanes also cause water pollution. There is a plague of too much water in some places, particularly when there is no guard against it.

While these problems are significant in America, they are worse elsewhere. In nations like India, infections are spread by dirty water, and temperatures can be above 100 degrees F for weeks. The same is true in some other third-world nations.

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