Climate change

Study: Deadly Fungus May Spread to Europe Due to Climate Change

Published JUN 16 2025

Story

Above: Mushrooms grow in a wooded habitat. Image credit: Silas Stein/Picture Alliance/Getty Images

The Facts

According to a study from researchers at the University of Manchester, Aspergillus fumigatus, a fungus that causes severe lung infections, could spread by 77.5% across Europe by 2100 under high-emission climate scenarios, exposing millions to infection. It thrives in warm, damp environments, causing the life-threatening aspergillosis.
GB News
ABC News
University of Manchester
Aspergillus flavus, another dangerous species that produces carcinogenic aflatoxins and infects crops, is projected to spread over 16% more territory globally. With increased warming, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus would spread northwards into the U.K. and Scandinavia.
Sky News
CNN
The Cool Down
Fungal infections already kill an estimated 2.5 million people annually worldwide, yet less than 10% of the world's estimated fungal species have been scientifically described. The WHO added fungal pathogens to its critical priority threat list in 2022, recognizing their growing impact on public health.
Daily Mirror
Independent
Sky News
Antifungal resistance is increasing rapidly, driven by the widespread use of agricultural fungicides. Many fungi are developing resistance.
Euro Weekly News
Daily Mail
ABC News
Vulnerable populations such as cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, and those with compromised immune systems face the greatest risk from aspergillosis infections, which spread through airborne spores that healthy immune systems typically clear.
Daily Mirror
CNN
Earth.com
Climate change-induced extreme events like droughts, floods, and storms can disturb spores and transport them over long distances, according to the study. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increased humidity are driving fungal adaptation and expansion.
Sky News
Independent

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The Spin

Climate-concerned narrative

Climate change has unleashed very dangerous fungi. Aspergillus species are silently spreading across continents, thriving in warming temperatures while developing terrifying resistance to humanity's meager antifungal arsenal. This isn't science fiction — it's an unfolding catastrophe that could eclipse viral pandemics, as Earth's rising heat transforms these microscopic predators into biological weapons.

Bloomberg.com

Climate-skeptic narrative

While fungal threats demand attention, society must resist alarmist proclamations about climate-driven disease apocalypse. Scientific rigor reveals complex, nonlinear relationships where warming might actually contract some pathogen ranges while expanding others. Climate-disease interactions involve confounding variables, threshold effects, and control measures that make simplistic "more heat equals more disease" narratives dangerously misleading.