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We’re Going to Be Much More Sick in Future as Heatwaves Bake The World

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Human and plant health could be threatened if the planet’s temperature continues to rise as a result of the climate crisis.

In the past two years, we’ve all been very aware of anyone who coughs or sneezes next to us and that the air we breathe may contain dangerous viruses that we need to avoid. Apart from COVID-19, which has taken the globe by storm, there are countless minute critters in the air around us, many of which cause sickness in humans or plants.

Researchers from Singapore, Brazil, and Germany presented a novel study that revealed the makeup of microorganisms in the air column using an innovative method. The researchers found that if global temperatures rise as a result of global warming, many disease agents would multiply and move over the world to locations where they aren’t now present, posing a threat to our health and ability to generate food.

The air, like water, soil, and the intestines of humans and other animals, provides a living environment for a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

“When bread is left on the counter in the kitchen, it will be covered in mold within a few days,” explains Prof. Yoav Yair, dean of the School of Sustainability at Reichman University. “Where did the spores that caused it come from? Well, they’re in the air all the time. We all breathe air that has huge amounts of particles in it.”

Prof Stefan Schuster, one of the new study’s primary researchers, observed that Singapore people breathe between 100,000 and a million germs per day, the majority of which aren’t dangerous.

“It can be assumed that in Israel these are similar numbers,” adds Yair.

The “boundary layer” portion of the atmosphere contains the highest concentration of microorganisms in the air.

“This is the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the one that comes in contact with the ground and the sea surface and there is an exchange of energy and substances on the largest scale,” says Yair.

This layer isn’t “permanent,” but its dimensions change depending on a variety of conditions. According to Yair, the boundary layer is easier to spot during certain hours of severe air pollution episodes.

“When you travel in the morning from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and see a kind of brown soup over Gush Dan, this is the border layer.”

Higher, warmer, and farther away

Researchers used a 200-meter-high tower with meteorological measurements such as humidity, wind speed, temperature, and solar radiation as well as an aircraft equipped with 38 sampling systems took air samples at various heights from the ground at 3500 meters at various times of the day including microorganisms for the new study published in the scientific journal PNAS.

In fact, scientists have been studying how germs and viruses are affected by their height before they fall to the ground. The significance of this measurement stems from the fact that the higher a microorganism’s rank, the more likely it is to land somewhere else than its original location.

“A basic fact in meteorology is that the wind speed increases as you move away from the surface because the air close to the ground meets it and diffuses the energy,” explains Yair. “So, if the boundary layer reaches higher, the particles in it can move for longer ranges.”

Researchers discovered that temperature is the single environmental component that influences the altitude at which bacteria reach during the day. When one considers the simple idea of heat rising, the explanation becomes clear. During the day, heat from the sun is absorbed by the earth’s surface, which heats the air above the ground and causes the boundary layer in the atmosphere above to spread and mix.

“Normally, there are mixing processes in the atmosphere, from the molecular level to the scale of clouds. As surface heating increases, the boundary layer rises, and with it comes pollution, dust and bacteria.”

Higher risk of disease transmission

Scientists warn that a warmer environment, as a result of rising global temperatures as a result of the climate crisis, raises the risk of disease to humans and plants in huge areas where they did not previously exist. Furthermore, several studies imply that rising global temperatures are allowing disease agents to survive in previously inhospitable environments. Today, these negative consequences can be witnessed all throughout the world.

“Malaria, for example, is sensitive to low temperatures and today it’s spreading to more northern latitudes because the temperature is rising,” adds Yair. “A similar phenomenon is seen with different species of harmful insects worldwide.”

One method that the climate problem may lead to increased morbidity is rising temperatures. Another effect of climate change, which Yair and other scientists studied, is the phenomena of “lightning storm asthma.”

“During lightning storms, the wind drops and blows many particles of dust, pollen and spores of fungi, some of which are very allergenic,” he adds.

“The climate crisis will increase the incidence of lightning storms and prolong the flowering period of many plants, some of which are allergenic.”

That is, there is a high chance of lightning storm asthma attacks, he claims.

Along with the potential concerns, it’s crucial to note that the majority of microorganisms in the air are harmless to people.

“Most people have adapted to the phenomenon because evolution has made us immune to many of the microorganisms in the air,”adds Yair. “However, sensitive and vulnerable people may suffer from it.”

Image Credit: Getty

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