Climate change impact on diseases and invasive species

Climate change is altering the global distribution of infectious diseases and invasive species. Rising temperatures, droughts, and floods are expanding the habitats and active periods for disease vectors like mosquitoes and ticks. In Europe, the World Health Organization has observed ticks carrying Lyme disease and encephalitis appearing at higher altitudes and latitudes, while in the United States, these shifts may facilitate the spread of tick-borne illnesses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Regarding marine environments, research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution indicates that rising sea levels will create new habitats for invasive species. Modeling of 122 species, including the blue crab and the starfish Asterias amurensis, suggests that under moderate greenhouse gas emission scenarios, sea levels could rise by 20 cm by 2050 and 56 cm by 2100. This rise may submerge between 360,000 and 550,000 km2 of coastal land, with more than two-thirds of these newly flooded areas—particularly mid-latitude estuaries—becoming suitable for invasive species to develop, potentially threatening previously unaffected ecosystems and human activities.