Mar 07, 2021 12:00:00

Climate change may have caused a pandemic of the new coronavirus

Climate change is having a serious impact on people's lives, with reports that '

20 million people lose their homes and become refugees each year due to disasters caused by climate change.' A new treatise published by research teams at the University of Cambridge and the University of Hawaii stated that 'the pandemic of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) may have been caused by climate change.'

Shifts in global bat diversity suggest a possible role of climate change in the emergence of SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 --ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721004812

Climate change may have driven the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 | EurekAlert! Science News
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/uoc-ccm020221.php

Here's How Climate Change May Have Played a Role in The Emergence of COVID-19
https://www.sciencealert.com/climate-change-may-have-played-a-role-in-the-emergence-of-coronavirus

SARS-CoV-2 is thought to be a virus of bat origin, and after infecting an intermediate host animal from a bat, the animal was

sold in the Chinese fresh market and infected humans. It has been pointed out that bats carry the zoonotic virus but do not get sick because they have a mechanism to regulate the immune and inflammatory responses.

What is the mechanism by which bats carry a large number of viruses without getting sick? --GIGAZINE

A research team led by zoologist Robert Bayer of the University of Cambridge conducted a study on 'the impact of climate change on SARS-CoV-2 infections.' How did climate change affect vegetation and bat habitats in areas adjacent to Yunnan, China and Myanmar and Laos, which are known to have SARS-CoV-2 roots by genetic studies? Was analyzed.

Analysis of vegetation changes due to climate change revealed that the area was a tropical shrub at the beginning of the 20th century, but at the end of the 20th century it was transformed into a tropical savanna and deciduous forest due to the effects of climate change. Comparing this data with the habitat conditions of bats around the world, we found that climate change has expanded the habitat of about 40 species of bats in the region. As a result, the types of coronavirus possessed by bat species in the vicinity of Yunnan Province, China have also increased.

'Climate change in the last century has made Yunnan, China a better environment for more bat species,' said Bayer. 'This not only changed the area where the virus resides, but also between animals and viruses.' It has enabled new interactions and may have produced more harmful coronaviruses through transmission and evolution. '

Bats play an important role in the ecosystem, are involved in pollination of more than 500 species of plants, including bananas and mangoes, and also use manure as fertilizer for plants and eat insects to control insect damage. Some bats have a beneficial effect on humans. Also, not all coronaviruses in bats are harmful to humans.

However, as climate change reduces animal habitat and humans develop nature to increase their interaction with animals, they are more likely to encounter dangerous viruses. In addition, the decrease in habitat

increases stress on bats and weakens the immune system, increasing the possibility that the virus will mutate to infect other animal species.

This study only shows the correlation and does not prove the causal relationship that 'SARS-CoV-2 was born by climate change'. However, in recent years, more and more research has shown that climate change promotes the transmission of viruses to other hosts.

Camilo Mora, a biogeographer at the University of Hawaii, said the fact that climate change makes it easier for wildlife pathogens to infect humans is an important motivation for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Pointed out that it could be. Given that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic caused enormous social and economic damage, governments have taken steps to mitigate climate change, protect animal habitats, and infectious disease health. The research team insisted that the risk should be reduced.