Scientific Sessions

Climate change is emerging as one of the most significant drivers of shifts in global health, with infectious diseases being particularly sensitive to environmental changes. Rising global temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events create favorable conditions for the spread of pathogens and their vectors. Warmer climates can expand the geographical range of mosquitoes, ticks, and other vectors, enabling diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus, chikungunya, and Lyme disease to spread into previously unaffected areas. Similarly, changes in rainfall and humidity influence breeding sites for disease vectors, while flooding can contaminate water supplies, increasing the risk of cholera and other waterborne illnesses. Melting permafrost in polar regions also raises concerns about the re-emergence of ancient pathogens previously trapped in ice. Moreover, climate-induced displacement of human populations due to droughts or rising sea levels can lead to overcrowding and poor sanitation, creating conditions conducive to outbreaks.

In addition to altering disease distribution, climate change affects the seasonality and intensity of outbreaks. Extended warm seasons allow vectors to survive and reproduce for longer periods, leading to prolonged transmission cycles. Ecosystem disruptions can also bring humans into closer contact with wildlife, increasing the likelihood of zoonotic diseases such as Ebola, Nipah virus, or coronaviruses spilling over into human populations. Furthermore, extreme weather events—such as hurricanes and heatwaves—can weaken healthcare systems and disrupt disease surveillance, reducing the capacity to detect and control outbreaks in a timely manner. Urbanization combined with climate change can exacerbate these risks by creating heat islands, poor air quality, and sanitation challenges. Addressing this growing threat requires a multidisciplinary approach that integrates climate adaptation strategies with public health measures, including vector control, vaccination programs, strengthened disease monitoring, and community education. Global cooperation and investment in research are essential to predict, prevent, and manage the health impacts of a changing climate, as the link between environmental change and infectious disease spread is no longer a distant concern but an urgent reality.