On climate change

By: ROSS GELBSPAN

There is one group of creatures for whom global warming is a boon. Of all of the systems of nature, one of the most responsive to temperature changes is insects. Warming accelerates the breeding rates and the biting rate of insects.

It accelerates the maturation of the pathogens they carry. It expands the range of insects, allowing them to live longer at higher altitudes and higher latitudes.

As a result, climate change is fuelling the spread of a wide array of insect-borne diseases among populations, species and entire ecosystems all over the planet…

According to an article in Scientific American, diseases relayed by mosquitoes — such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and several kinds of encephalitis — are among those eliciting the greatest concern as the world warms.

Mosquitoes acquire disease-causing microorganisms when they take a blood meal from an infected animal or person.

The pathogen reproduces inside the insects that may deliver disease-causing doses to the next individuals they bite.

The insects can flourish even more if climate change or other processes (such as habitat destruction) reduce the populations of predators that normally feed on mosquitoes…

Nor is it only warmer temperatures that propel the spread of insect-borne diseases. Weather extremes, another consequence of climate change, also play a pivotal role. As floods recede, they leave puddles that in times of drought become stagnant pools.

From “Boiling Point”