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Global cholera surge likely accelerated by climate change, warns UN health agency
Climate change has driven an “unprecedented” number of larger and more deadly cholera outbreaks around the world this year, the UN health agency, WHO, said on Friday.
“The map is under threat (from cholera) everywhere,” said Dr. Philippe Barboza, from the World Health Organization, speaking in Geneva, via Zoom.
Available data points to cases of infection in around 30 countries, whereas in the previous five years, fewer than 20 countries reported infections, on average.
“The situation is quite unprecedented, for not only we are seeing more outbreaks, but these outbreaks are larger and more deadly than the ones we have seen in past years,” said Dr. Barboza, WHO Team Lead for Cholera and Epidemic Diarrhoeal Diseases. “This increasing number of cholera outbreaks is occurring after several years of regular reduction in the number of cases and deaths.”
Dr. Barboza explained that all the “usual factors” had played their part in the global uptick of cholera in 2022, not least conflict and mass displacement.
Added to this was the “very visible impact” of climate change, he insisted.
“Most of these larger outbreaks and the fact that they are simultaneously occurring - which makes the situation much more complex - is a direct impact of the increase in adverse climate troubles.”
The cholera crisis has been playing out across the Horn of Africa and the Sahel accompanied by “major floods, unprecedented monsoons (and) a succession of cyclones”, the WHO cholera expert said.
Many other countries have also been affected, including Haiti, Lebanon, Malawi and Syria, where there are large outbreaks. In Pakistan, where previous years have seen only sporadic cases of cholera, there have been more than 500,000 reported cases of watery diarrhoea this year, but “less than a few thousand” laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera.
Equally worrying is the WHO assessment that the situation is “not going to change quickly” in 2023, because meteorologists have forecast that the La Nina climatic phenomenon is likely to persist for a third successive year.
Natural disasters associated with La Nina are prolonged droughts and rains and an increase in cyclones, “so we are very likely to see exactly …(or a) similar situation that we saw at the beginning of 2022”, Dr. Barboza said, indicating that the worst-hit areas were likely to be in Eastern and Southern Africa, the Caribbean and Asia.
Although cholera is preventable, a global shortage of vaccines persists, with sole producers
South Korea and India already at “maximum production” of a reported 36 million vaccines per year.
A South African initiative to produce the vaccines there is underway, but this could take “a few years” to materialize, Dr. Barboza said. He explained that vaccines are so scarce, the International Coordinating Group (ICG) had to decide in October to reduce its global vaccination strategy from two doses to one, to tackle cholera outbreaks.
Despite vaccine shortages, the WHO official stressed that cholera “is easy to treat” in comparison with other illnesses which require ventilators or specialised intensive care units, but only if patients can be given intravenous fluids or antibiotics quickly.
According to WHO, every year, there are 1.3 to four million cases of cholera, and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths worldwide from the disease. The disease is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
“Very clearly, cholera is a disease of poverty, of vulnerability, it’s the most fragile part of the population in any given country which are most at risk and for a very simple reason: it’s just because they don’t have access to safe water and to basic sanitation,” said Dr. Barboza.
ends
STORY: Global Cholera Update - WHOTRT: 2 min 05s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 16 December 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Medium-wide, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide, press room, podium speaker seated.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Philippe Barboza, Team Lead for Cholera and Epidemic Diarrhoeal Diseases, at the World Health Organization (WHO): “The situation is quite unprecedented, for not only we are seeing more outbreaks, but these outbreaks are larger and more deadly than the ones we have seen in the past years. And this increasing number of cholera outbreaks is occurring after several years of regular reduction in the number of cases and deaths.”
- Close, hands of journalists taking notes, microphone in foreground, TV screen to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Philippe Barboza, Team Lead for Cholera and Epidemic Diarrhoeal Diseases, at the World Health Organization (WHO): “What is again very new since the beginning of the year and the end of last year is a very visible impact of the climate change. Most of these larger outbreaks and the fact that they are simultaneously occurring - which makes the situation much more complex - is a direct impact of the increase in adverse climate troubles.”
- Medium, TV camera lens in foreground, podium speaker to rear with Dr. Barboza shown on TV screen.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Philippe Barboza, Team Lead for Cholera and Epidemic Diarrhoeal Diseases, at the World Health Organization (WHO): “For example, in the Horn of Africa, in the Sahel, but also in other parts of the world, major floods, unprecedented monsoons, a succession of cyclones; so again, most these outbreaks have or are still being fuelled by the result of the climate change, and unfortunately things are not going to change quickly.”
- Close, TV screen showing speaker, press conference participant to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Dr. Philippe Barboza, Team Lead for Cholera and Epidemic Diarrhoeal Diseases, at the World Health Organization (WHO): “Very clearly, cholera is a disease of poverty, of vulnerability, it’s the most fragile part of the population in any given country which are most at risk and for a very simple reason: it’s just because they don’t have access to safe water and to basic sanitation.”
- Medium, press conference participant watching
- Medium-wide, press room, podium speaker seated, guest speaker shown on TV screen.
- Medium, participants, TV camera on tripod.
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
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Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends