Climate Change and Infectious Diseases

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3 and SDG 13. 

                                                        Climate change is increasingly recognised as a critical factor influencing the emergence, evolution, and transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. Shifts in temperature, precipitation, and extreme weather events reshape ecological niches, alter host and vector behaviour, and disrupt human-environment interactions — creating novel selective pressures that drive pathogen adaptation and spread. These environmental perturbations can expand the geographic range of disease vectors, modify transmission seasonality, and intensify outbreak frequency and severity.

To advance our understanding of these complex dynamics, it is essential to integrate insights from climatology, molecular epidemiology, clinical microbiology, and genomics. This includes characterising how climate-driven changes affect pathogen evolution, host susceptibility, and immune response; identifying genetic determinants of virulence and resistance; and leveraging genomic surveillance to track emerging threats. Particular emphasis is placed on vulnerable populations, precision modelling of disease risk across spatial and temporal scales, and the incorporation of climate variables into predictive frameworks for early warning and response.

Through this cross-journal Collection, the editors at Communications Medicine, Nature Communications, Nature Microbiology, Nature Health, Communications Health, and Scientific Reports invite submissions that explore the clinical and genetic dimensions of climate-sensitive infectious diseases. We welcome original Articles, Reviews, and Perspectives that contribute to the development of adaptive, equitable, and genomically informed health systems. Scientific Reports will consider original Articles only.