Climate change is expected to lead to adverse impacts on global agricultural production, as it influences plant disease occurrence and severity at spatial and temporal scales (Howden et al., 2007). Furthermore, climate change also affects plant growth by reduced water availability and other abiotic stress factors. Recent studies have shown that climatic variables (eg humidity, temperature) are important drivers explaining the global distribution of potentially pathogenic soil-borne microorganisms (Větrovský et al., 2019; Delgado-Baquerizo et al., 2020). These studies are fundamental for understanding the global incidence and potential impact of fungal plant pathogens on terrestrial ecosystems. However, it remains poorly understood to which extent the prevalence of soil pathogens and the factors affecting them translates into increased incidence of disease outbreaks. To provide empirical evidence, we analysed actual disease incidence reported worldwide using the ProMED database (www. promed-mail. org). ProMED is a global electronic reporting system for outbreaks of emerging diseases from the International Society for Infectious Diseases (www. isid. org), which has already been used in the past to address the relative contribution of different factors to emerging plant diseases (Anderson et al., 2004). The ProMED database is based on outbreak reports by authorities, stakeholders and individuals that are submitted to a panel of moderators who review the quality of the data and publish a post containing only reliable data (Yu & Madoff, 2004).