Coronavirus, global warming may have contributed to its spread
Well-being — di Andrea Barolini
A study suggests that the zoonotic transmission of coronavirus may have been facilitated by the expansion of habitats in which bats thrive.
Coronavirus, global warming may have contributed to its spread
A study suggests that the zoonotic transmission of coronavirus may have been facilitated by the expansion of habitats in which bats thrive.
Global warming may have played a decisive role in the zoonotic transmission of the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 — that is, in the passage from animals to humans of the agent responsible for the disease Covid-19. In particular, the rise in average global temperature has substantially altered the microclimates of certain ecosystems, offering new habitats to bats, the species presumed to be at the origin of the first contact with human beings.
Climate change may have played a "key role" in the transmission of the novel coronavirus to humans by driving several species of pathogen-carrying bats into closer contact, research showed on Friday by University of Cambridge. #etribune
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Bat settlement has increased in southern China
This is explained by a new study published on 5 February by the journal Science of the Total Environment and carried out by a group of researchers from the University of Cambridge. The scientists modelled the presence of several bat populations, cross-referencing data on temperatures and rainfall, in order to understand where the vegetation most suited to the life of these mammals grows.
The data indicate that over the past 100 years, 40 bat species have seen the areas presenting favourable conditions for their settlement expand — in particular a belt straddling southern China, Myanmar and Laos. "We cannot say," Robert Meyer told the AFP news agency, lead author of the study, "that in the absence of global warming the pandemic would not have occurred. But it is difficult to argue that this increase in the number of bats and the coronaviruses they carry made it less likely."
Ipbes has recommended protecting ecosystems
One factor now recognised by the scientific community is undoubtedly the increase in contact between human beings and animals driven by the destruction of ecosystems. Meyer himself added that "it is two sides of the same coin: we penetrate deeper into their habitats and at the same time climate change can push pathogens towards us."
#climatechange to blame for the pandemic? Researchers @Cambridge_Uni say that due to changes in vegetation over the last century in Southeast Asian forests, 40 more bat species with potentially more coronaviruses may have entered this area.
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It is no coincidence that last autumn the Pandemics report — a document produced by 22 scientists brought together by the Intergovernmental science-policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services (Ipbes), an independent intergovernmental body recognised by the United Nations — set out what needs to be done to avert future pandemics: protecting ecosystems, halting the decline of biodiversity, reducing excessive agricultural exploitation and intensive farming, halting deforestation and limiting the trade in wildlife.