ABSTRACT
The Zika virus epidemic that emerged in northeast Brazil in 2015 occurred during an unusually warm and dry year. Both natural climate variability as well as long-term trends were responsible for the extreme temperatures observed and these climate conditions are likely to have contributed to the timing and scale of this devastating epidemic. Hydro-meteorological disasters are significant causes of mortality as well as of acute and chronic health issues. The 1931 Central China flood disaster, which followed a period of extreme weather events, is the largest recorded disaster of the 20th century. Epidemics of infectious diseases are those caused by other living organisms such as bacteria, viruses, worms, fungi or parasites living in or on human bodies. Many such organisms may normally be harmless, but under certain circumstances they become pathogenic and may cause mild to severe disease or even death.
