COVID-19 Origin Still Unclear, Climate Change Raising Virus Spillover Risks: Swaminathan
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The origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains unresolved, former World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Wednesday, while ruling out claims that the virus was deliberately manufactured and released. Speaking after delivering a lecture on ‘Climate Change and Global Health’ in Hyderabad, she said there is little scientific basis to support theories of intentional creation or release of the virus.
Ms. Swaminathan was addressing questions following the lecture organised by the Telangana Akademi of Sciences at CSIR-CCMB.
Key Scientific Perspective
Responding to queries on whether COVID-19 could have originated from a laboratory leak or climate-driven mutations, Ms. Swaminathan said that while several hypotheses exist, definitive conclusions are not possible due to lack of access to key data, including information from the Wuhan laboratory.
“We did not receive the data needed to draw a definite conclusion,” she said, adding that the hypothesis of deliberate release has very weak scientific grounding. However, she acknowledged that climate change is increasingly influencing viral behaviour and mutation patterns.
She cited the example of the H1N1 influenza virus, noting a rise in cases where the virus has jumped from birds to mammals, with occasional transmission to humans. Such spillover events, she said, are becoming more frequent, particularly in the United States, increasing the long-term risk of new pandemics.
Climate Change and Public Health
Earlier, while delivering the 13th Dr. Manohar V. N. Shirodkar Memorial Lecture, Ms. Swaminathan highlighted the growing health threats posed by air pollution, extreme heat, and climate change, especially in low- and middle-income countries like India.
She stressed that solutions are well known and achievable, pointing to examples from China and London, where transitions to renewable energy, better public transport, improved waste management, diversified agriculture, and energy-efficient buildings have reduced pollution-related health risks. She emphasised that human activity remains the primary driver of climate change.
Ms. Swaminathan also warned that biodiversity loss continues largely unnoticed, with nearly one million species at risk of extinction, posing unpredictable threats to ecosystems and human health.
Global Implications
She noted that the 1.5°C warming threshold has already been breached, with projections suggesting global temperatures could rise 2.5–3°C by the end of the century. The rise in extreme events—heatwaves, floods, cyclones, droughts and landslides—has already affected migration patterns and disease burdens worldwide.
Drawing a parallel between climate change and COVID-19, she said both challenges do not respect borders, making global cooperation essential.
Conclusion
Ms. Swaminathan concluded that mitigation and adaptation must go hand in hand, and stressed the importance of scientific collaboration and knowledge-sharing across nations to address future global health threats.
Our Thoughts
Soumya Swaminathan’s remarks underline a critical reality: uncertainty over COVID-19’s origins should not distract from the growing scientific consensus on climate change as a health threat multiplier. As viral spillovers rise alongside environmental disruption, global cooperation, transparency, and science-led policy will be crucial to preventing the next pandemic.
