This episode explores how the climate crisis is reshaping the landscape of infectious disease. Drawing on the latest IPCC findings and recent research by Camilo Mora and others, Dr. Peter Carter and climate system scientist Paul Beckwith explain how warming temperatures, marine heat waves, floods, droughts and expanding tropics are altering where and how diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, Lyme disease, malaria and Vibrio infections spread.
This video was recorded on May 22nd, 2026, and published on May 24th, 2026, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.
Our panel digs into the mechanisms behind these changes: damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed sanitation after extreme weather, shifting ranges for mosquitoes, ticks and other vectors, and “dead zones” and marine heat waves that can incubate dangerous pathogens along coastlines. They also discuss longer‑term risks, from Canfield‑type ocean states in Earth’s past to today’s growing burden of chronic vulnerability after COVID and other outbreaks.
Finally, we examine what can be done—from strengthening public‑health and disaster‑response systems in every country, to practical individual actions such as better indoor air, improved hygiene, and reducing greenhouse‑gas emissions to tackle the root cause. If you care about how climate change is already affecting human health, and what a hotter, more unstable world could mean for future pandemics, this conversation is for you.
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Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute.
Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University.
Herb Simmens - Author, Co-founder of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC), Climate Emergency Board Member and former college instructor.
Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader
Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.
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