Resumo

SILVA, Heslley Machado. Learning from 536 AD: Climate Collapse, Pandemics, and the Urgency of Collective Action in the 21st Century. Rev Pan-Amaz Saude [online]. 2025, vol.16, e202501803.  Epub 05-Nov-2025. ISSN 2176-6215.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5123/s2176-6223202501803.

This article revisits the year 536 AD, often described as one of the darkest periods in human history due to a climatic collapse and the Justinian Plague, drawing a parallel with contemporary challenges shaped by climate change, pandemics, and scientific disinformation. Through a narrative review and theoretical reflection, it highlights how extreme events (such as floods, droughts, and wildfires) are intensifying, undermining ecosystems and disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed structural weaknesses in health systems and the impact of denialism (information avoidance). Unlike ancient societies, today's humanity possesses scientific knowledge, technological resources, and strategies capable of mitigating these crises; yet political inertia and cultural resistance continue to hinder coordinated action. The historical experience of 536 serves as a warning: scientific knowledge alone is insufficient unless it is ethically, collectively, and responsibly mobilized. The article concludes that only through urgent, science-based collective action can humanity avoid repeating cycles of collapse.

Palavras-chave : Climate Change; Pandemics; Information Avoidance; History as Topic; Community Action; Public Policy.

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