Climate Crisis Effect on Disease

One of the problems made worse byt the Climate Crisis is the spread of contagious diseases, particularly those transmitted to humans by insects. In northern areas or high elevations, warmer winters can upset the seasonal control on the numbers of insects such as wood ticks, because the cold isn't enough to kill as many. In more southerly areas, an increase in temperature can provide insects such as mosquitoes with the tropical climate in which they thrive.

This has been documented in various places in the world, and now it is suspected in a large area of Africa. According to the BBC, temperatures in East African highlands--including parts of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, have risen by half a degree Celsius in the last 50 years (mostly since 1970) and incidence of malaria has also increased. Though other factors are likely to contribute, a computer model shows that this rise in temperature could mean a 100% increase in the mosquito population.