The 21st Century Center "Climate Salon" discusses hot topics——
How climate change affects the spread of the new coronavirus
Our reporter Liu Yin
Just like climate change, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has become a major global crisis. What is the relationship between the two? On July 20, at the 26th "Climate Salon" held online by the China Agenda 21 Management Center (hereinafter referred to as the 21st Century Center), this topic became the focus of discussion by experts.
The 21st Century Center has long attached great importance to climate change work. He Xiaojia, secretary-general of the "Climate Salon", said that in light of the recent impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, it is necessary to study the relationship between climate change and disease transmission.
It is worth mentioning that weather conditions such as temperature and humidity have a direct impact on the spread of the new crown virus. There have been many studies on this issue in various countries around the world, including more than 50 academic papers published on the preprint website.
"Research found that the best temperature for the spread of the new coronavirus is 5°C-11°C, and the best humidity is 60%-80%. It is generally believed that high temperature and high humidity are beneficial to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus." Peking University School of Public Health Associate researcher Wang Bin shared the international research on the environmental tolerance of the new coronavirus.
Furthermore, Wang Bin concluded that: ambient temperature and humidity definitely affect the virus’ infectivity, but it is not a decisive factor in preventing the spread of the virus. “The hope of relying on seasonal temperature increases to suppress the epidemic has been dashed, and we should more Focus more on the formulation and implementation of proactive epidemic prevention and control policies."
The global situation for the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic is still severe, and international cooperation on climate change has also been impacted. The climate negotiations have pressed the "pause button" as a whole, including the meeting of subsidiary bodies of the convention in June this year and the end of the year UN climate conference are postponed to 2021. Zhong Ping, the new chairman of the United Nations Climate Technology Center and Network Advisory Committee and deputy director of the 21st Century Center’s Global Division, introduced that considering the importance of 2020 in the process of international climate negotiations, the new crown pneumonia epidemic will have a certain negative impact on global climate governance.
It is not just the new coronavirus. Looking at history, infectious diseases have always threatened the survival of mankind. Yang Linsheng, a researcher at the Institute of Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyzed that climate change, changes in the ecological environment and their coordination with human activities are the main factors for emerging/recurring infectious diseases.
From a long-term perspective, climate evolution has changed the spatial distribution of vector organisms and has an important impact on disease transmission. Liu Qiyong, a researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, took the latest research results as an example, said that climate change has caused the Aedes vector to expand westward and northward. Under the scenario of future warming, up to 493 million people will be close to 600 counties (districts). It is in a high-risk area of dengue fever.
"There are two types of scientific research on the impact of climate change on diseases that require more attention." Pan Jiahua, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Institute of Urban Development and Environment, pointed out that first, climate change has caused global warming, permafrost and glaciers. , Some germs that exist in the North and South poles may be released due to the increase in temperature. This must be prevented before they occur. Second, climate change triggers secondary disasters, such as floods and high temperatures, which have a greater impact on health.
Actively adapt to climate change and promote the realization of sustainable development goals, which is also the consensus of the participating experts.
Wu Shaohong, a researcher at the Institute of Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that emergency management and control of public health such as the new crown pneumonia epidemic should be an important task to adapt to climate change to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change on human health.
"As the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic enters the stage of normalization, the prevention and control of the epidemic and related issues should be viewed from the perspective of sustainable development." Ke Bing, deputy director of the 21st Century Center, suggested that in the future, we must face the country's medium and long-term scientific and technological development Planning, etc., to strengthen multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research in public health and ecology, meteorology, environmental science, social science, etc., to closely link urban resilience and population health, to strengthen scientific and technological support for the construction of the public health system, and to promote a "healthy China" And the achievement of sustainable development goals.
(Technology Daily, Beijing, July 21st)