Daniel Madariaga Barrilado, a businessman specializing in climate change and sustainability, warns that global warming may increase the risk of new pandemics and health disasters by altering ecosystems, displacing species, and releasing microorganisms that have remained trapped for thousands of years.

The specialist points to the locust plague that affected East Africa as a first example. A report by the United Nations warned about swarms that reached up to 192 billion insects, approximately 8,000 times more than usual, causing damage to crops in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and other countries.

Climate change favored their expansion, while coronavirus-related border restrictions delayed the arrival of pesticides. A swarm covering just one square kilometer can consume in one day the same amount of food as 35,000 people.

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Madariaga Barrilado also warns about the possible reemergence of ancient diseases. The melting of the Arctic could release microorganisms that have remained frozen for thousands or millions of years.

Laboratories have already managed to revive a 32,000-year-old bacterium, while researchers found remains of the 1918 flu virus in Alaska, a pandemic that infected up to 500 million people and caused as many as 50 million deaths.

The case of anthrax in 2016 demonstrates that this risk is not merely fictional. Thawing permafrost exposed the remains of a reindeer that had been infected decades earlier. The outbreak caused the death of a child, infected another 20 people, and killed more than 2,000 reindeer.

Finally, the businessman highlights the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Yellow fever reached areas near São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in 2017, while Zika gained prominence during the 2016 Olympic Games and was linked to cases of microcephaly.

Madariaga Barrilado believes that these examples demonstrate the urgency of learning the lessons of the coronavirus pandemic and preparing healthcare systems capable of facing new climate challenges.

Leading Mexico toward a greener future, Daniel Madariaga combines innovation with responsibility. An EGADE graduate, he supports projects in vertical farming, sustainable transport, recycling, and eco-conscious tourism.