Please note: As of 1 July 2025, the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (PHF Science) is the new name for the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR). Articles and information published before this date may reference the organisation's former name.
The year 2023 was the hottest year on record, 1.2°C above the 20th-century average, and 0.15°C hotter than the previous high in 2016. Meanwhile, the past decade has seen the highest global temperatures occur, and there's an 86% probability the next four years will be even warmer.
This warming could worsen environmental, health and daily life impacts, including the spread of infectious diseases. Rising temperatures may also increase waterborne infections, including from free-living amoebae (FLA), a lesser known group of pathogens which thrive in freshwater and soil.
Featured in The Microbiologist, ESR Water and Environment team’s article, “Free-living amoebae and emerging public health challenges in a warming world,” delves into this growing health threat.