Over Half of Known Human Pathogenic Diseases can be Aggravated by Climate Change

It is relatively well accepted that climate change can affect human pathogenic diseases; however, the full extent of this risk remains poorly quantified. This article discusses a systematic search for empirical examples about the impacts of ten climatic hazards sensitive to greenhouse gas emissions on each known human pathogenic disease. It found that 58% (that is, 218 out of 375) of infectious diseases confronted by humanity worldwide have been at some point aggravated by climatic hazards; 16% were at times diminished.