Climate change will force new animal encounters — and boost viral outbreaks

Over the next 50 years, climate change could drive over 15,000 new cases of mammals transmitting viruses to other mammals, according to a study published in Nature. It’s one of the first to predict how global warming will shift wildlife habitats, increase encounters among species capable of swapping pathogens and quantify how many times viruses will jump between species. The COVID-19 pandemic probably started when a novel coronavirus passed zoonotically, from wild animal to human, many researchers say. A predicted rise in viruses jumping between species could trigger more outbreaks, posing a serious threat to human and animal health alike, the study warns — providing all the more reason for governments and health organizations to invest in pathogen surveillance and to improve health-care infrastructure. The study is “a critical first step in understanding the future risk of climate and land-use change on the next pandemic”, says Kate Jones, who models interactions between...