Impacts of Storms, Precipitation, Drought, and Water Quality on Rheumatic Diseases.

The changing climate is impacting weather systems throughout the world, with complex and variable impacts on the frequency and intensity of major storms, flooding, and drought. There are negative health impacts for the general population with some detrimental impacts unique to patients with rheumatic diseases. These changing climate scenarios can also change patterns of infectious diseases with rheumatic manifestations and impact the quality of available water sources with implications for various pollutants. More studies are needed to fully understand the implications of climate changes for patients with rheumatic diseases.