Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Türk Bilimsel Derlemeler Dergisi, cilt.2, sa.2, ss.79-88, 2022 (Hakemli Dergi)
The phenomenon of global climate change, which has been discussed for decades whether
it is a possibility or a rumor, has revealed with tangible cases. By the end of 2019, it has become clear that
this is a global scientific fact. First year of current decade '2020' has been engraved our memories with
abnormal natural events; the most dramatics are the Australian bushfires and the coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19), which is caused by the new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). By the emergence of the
COVID-19, it has been realized that humanity is helpless against epidemics, as it was in the middle ages,
no matter how advanced the technology. Is there a relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and
global warming? It is interesting that this issue, which has been pondered in modern age, was actually
addressed about 1000 years ago. Avicenna (Ibn-i Sina) drew attention to negative effects of climate change
on health in his studies called the Canon of Medicine. In his corpus, he explained in detail that the changing
climate can affect people's physiology and that people with impaired adaptation capacity may be exposed
to diseases and epidemics. It is obvious that we have not learned a lesson from the past in our century, in
which human beings have largely accepted global warming. Indeed, in such cases, history has the
characteristic of repeating itself. For this reason, we have to reconsider Avicenna's determinations and find
solutions to the problem of global warming beyond political or economic interests. We can counter possible
future pandemics with vaccines, but we cannot end global warming with vaccines. In our review, today
when we face global climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, discussions and scientific data on the
pandemic are presented, and Avicenna's physiological perspectives on the subject from 1000 years ago are
evaluated.