The Arctic Could Soon Unleash The Next Pandemic. Here's Why

As the world warms and glacier melt continues, the northern part of the planet could become a breeding ground for new infectious diseases.

Lake Hazen is the largest lake by volume north of thearctic circle. The scientists wanted to identify the pool of Viruses present in the environment.

The ability for viruses to flood into new host species and keep spreading was figured out by the team using a computer program.

The researchers wrote that the risk of spills increases with glacier melt.

The HighArctic could become fertile ground for emerging Pandemics if climate change shifts species range.

The researchers compared the evolutionary path of both viruses and hosts, looking for differences and similarities between the two and suggesting the possibility of a change to the status quo.

"From an evolutionary standpoint, viruses are more prone to infecting hosts that are close to their natural host, potentially because it is easier for them to colonize species that are genetically similar," the researchers say.

In line with previous studies, which show how degraded landscapes can thrust pathogens, parasites and hosts together in new ways, the researchers suggest that increased glacier runoff leads to greater chances of Viruses jumping over into Eukaryote hosts

The soil and lake samples had different spillover risks. The spillover risk in soil increased to a point before it declined, whereas the risk in lake samples continued to rise.

More organic material gets washed into the lake rather than remaining on land, as one explanation suggests.

The emergence of new pathogens is one of the consequences of the climate changing.

One part of the world that is most vulnerable to climate change is the HighArctic. The last couple of decades has seen the disappearance of a third of the winter ice in the ocean.

Scientists warn of an increased risk of Pandemics caused by multiple factors, including human activity destroying natural habitats and forcing animals to live in increasingly close quarters

With global warming likely to lead to species heading further north to maintain an environment with the same sort of temperatures, the potential for Viruses to jump to new species grows even further.

"This twofold effect of climate change, both increasing risk and leading to a northward shift in species ranges, could have dramatic effects in the HighArctic," wrote the researchers.

It will be a critical endeavor to untangle the risk from actual spillovers and Pandemics.

The paper has been published in a journal.