Is global warming threatening another outbreak of the plague?

Global warming could bring plague back to Europe

Global warming, which is increasing worldwide, is causing ice layers on the poles and the so-called permafrost ground to continue to melt away. This could cause various dangerous bacteria and even the plague to become a threat to humanity in the future.

An expert from the internationally recognized University of Oxford warned that global warming could lead to a new onset of the plague when bacteria stored in the ice are released by melting. Thus, new global pandemics could threaten all humanity. This thesis was presented at this year's Cheltenham Literary Festival.

The Black Death led to the death of millions of people in the Middle Ages. Are we facing a new outbreak of the plague? (Image: Andrey Kiselev / fotolia.com)

Bacteria enter the environment from molten ice

Higher global temperatures cause ice sheets and permafrost to melt worldwide. This releases bacteria, some of which have been inactive for thousands of years. Unfortunately, global warming can only be stopped very difficult. Experts believe that there is now no way for the international community to reach the goal of the Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 ° C.

Why did the plague spread so much in the Middle Ages??

When the permafrost thaws and biological agents are released, dangerous bacteria may re-enter the earth's ecosystem. This increases the risk that the world's population will be affected by diseases for which there is no effective treatment. So could the plague occur again, which has already led in the Middle Ages to millions of dead. Typical symptoms of the plague include tumors, fever, vomiting, respiratory problems and skin lesions. In the Middle Ages, the plague spread so much because there was a 1.5 degree warming of the Earth's atmosphere, probably due to solar flares or volcanic activity. This relatively small difference of one and a half degrees allowed a small microbe to develop into Black Death (plague), the researchers explain. The result was a pandemic caused by the spread of the bacterium Yersinia pestis.

When did the plague occur??

The plague raged particularly between 1347 and 1351, although the first documented case of the pandemic occurred between 1338 and 1339 in Kyrgyzstan. Affected were areas in Europe, Central Asia and the so-called Silk Road, which brought the plague in areas in the Middle East.

How did the plague reach Europe??

Climate change in Asia has resulted in rodents carrying plague-infected fleas migrating from dried grasslands to human settlements. These fleas then traveled on merchant ships to Europe, where the spread of plague bacteria was supported by the crowds in urban areas. While opinions on the victims of the plague vary among historians, estimates range from 75 million to 200 million in Europe alone.

Anthrax released by the thawing of permafrost

The future threat of the plague is greater than the threat of sea-level rise or drought, speculates Professor Peter Frankopan of the University of Oxford in the English-language magazine The Times. Of course, the researchers' assessment is a kind of worst-case scenario for future global warming, yet there are already examples of why permafrost thawing is a serious threat to humans. In 2016, a 12-year-old boy died and more than 40 people were hospitalized in Siberia after being infected with anthrax. Anthrax (anthrax) is a dangerously infectious disease. The pathogen produced by the pathogen is considered highly toxic. Spores can survive for decades or even hundreds of years.

Infested deer in the permafrost was the source of the eruption

At that time anthrax was released when high summer temperatures melted the permafrost, uncovering an infected deer that had been frozen for decades. Since the animal had died of anthrax, the previously frozen bacteria contaminated water and soil, causing the pathogens to enter the food chain. As a result, over 1500 reindeer were infected and killed. Some of these infected animals were consumed by people in the area, which also infected them. (As)