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Alone we will fall, but together we shall rise against this challenge. Climate change and antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, stem from our egos blinding us to the consequences of our actions. These intertwined issues are impossible to tackle separately, yet we refuse to accept this. Sadly, our limited understanding means we have yet to grasp the full scale, but we do know that alone, AMR already takes 1 million lives annually, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. With climate change, it could bring about an age of death. But you might be wondering, What is AMR? How is it linked to climate change? And is it that bad?

AMR, or antimicrobial resistance, occurs when bacteria are repeatedly exposed to an onslaught of antibiotics, leading to strains that resist the mass-murdering medication. Essentially, the antibiotics are forcing the bacteria to either evolve. or perish, which eliminates all the bacteria except the resistant ones. Since bacteria multiply every 20 minutes according to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, these strains will mutate and the cycle will occur again. The weak die, the strong live, and eventually the bacteria become immune to the drug, making them much harder to kill. For once, evolution is being used against us. This is influenced by factors like specific bacteria genes and misprescribed antibiotics. But how does this all relate to climate change?

Imagine our civilization as a castle, and AMR as a horde of invaders trying to burn us to the ground. Climate change can serve as a ladder, helping these invaders scale the castle walls. This is because climate change influences things such as temperature, population density, and pollution. For example, higher ambient temperatures cause bacteria to multiply faster and make the human body weaker for the bacteria to prey on. Climate change-induced natural disasters can lead to crowding and poor hygiene in refugee camps, which becomes a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Sick people then overwhelm hospitals, which can cause an overuse of antibiotics and subsequent AMR. But what happens to all the unused antibiotics? According to the National Library of Medicine, if not disposed of correctly, the products can seep into the soil, from where they can contaminate our food supply and waterways with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. All it takes is one crack in our defenses for a flood of bacteria to drown us all.

This all seems downright awful, but the truth is it only gets worse. Our stubborn souls made mistake after mistake during the COVID pandemic, which has dug the pit, so to say, far deeper than before. After COVID-19 attacks an individual, if the individual survives, they are in a state of physical exhaustion, and if you are invaded by bacteria, you have to consume antibiotics, which in your immunocompromised state can easily create AMR bacteria.

It may seem that our future is grim, but we may feel the light of salvation soon. The first steps to dealing with AMR are happening as we speak: the World Health Organization has declared it a global health issue. But we need to do more. Now is the time to act—together. We have to advocate to deal with climate change and antimicrobial resistance together, and as a planet, not as countries, because for once, it’s everyone’s fault. Thank you.