A Lesser Known Evil of Climate Change

Today, fires rage through dry forested areas, ocean levels rise, and ice caps melt as increasing levels of greenhouse gases are released into our atmosphere. Climate change is hardly an unknown topic now, but one of its lesser known effects is how it increases the spread of deadly diseases.

In a world still struggling with the aftermath of COVID-19, any more outbreaks could lead to pandemonium. However, many people overlook that the ever increasing problem of rising temperatures has led to changes in migration patterns of disease-carrying insects. The drastic change in climate has led to and will continue to cause the spread of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, and other vectors. The increased warmth and humidity of previously cool areas will make it easier for unfamiliar afflictions to spread. We must limit the rise of temperatures caused by climate change in order to protect public health.

Mosquitoes are attracted to warm climates, which is why colder areas like the Northeastern United States see relatively few mosquitoes compared to hotbeds down south. As the temperature of mosquitoes’ environments increases, so does how easily they can spread a disease, but only up to a certain threshold. This boundary is called the “optimum point” of the transmission, which is different for every disease. For example, the optimum point of malaria is 78 degrees Fahrenheit, while for Zika, it is 84 degrees Fahrenheit. The rising temperatures caused by climate change make it easier for regions to reach said optimal temperatures. Mosquitoes will be able to migrate further because of the warmed temperatures, and it will be harder to prevent diseases as viruses are transmitted more easily. Due to climate change, there will be milder winters, leading to a growth in mosquito populations.

Aedes mosquitoes are one of the most common disease-carrying species of mosquito. These are known to carry a large range of illnesses, such as Zika, dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Rift Valley disease. The Culex species, also known as household mosquitoes, can transmit wild diseases between birds and other animals. Mosquitoes carry a wide variety of diseases that are hard to defend against, and as climate change continues to warm the Earth, these will only spread to countries that are inexperienced in dealing with them.

Another vector whose activity is enhanced by climate change is ticks. They thrive in forested areas and carry many diseases, such as Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Powassan virus disease, and Ehrlichiosis. Now, as a result of warmer winters, fewer ticks will die, leading to an increase in tick populations and tick carriers. Ticks latch onto hosts in their habitat, like deers and other wild animals, which will increase the range and speed at which ticks can travel and spread diseases. In the United States, cases of Lyme disease in the Northeast have been steadily increasing for decades. For example, between 1991 and 2018, the number of cases per 100 thousand people in the US almost doubled. Lyme disease in ticks will spread even further as climate change warms the formerly frigid temperatures of the North’s Decembers. We can’t ignore this effect. Instead, we must choose to protect against it.

As the planet heats up, areas with historically cooler climates will become optimal habitats for disease-carrying pests. While the risk of vector-borne diseases will increase in these regions, it will decline in regions that are the usual hotspots: tropical climates, especially among low income populations. Malaria actively handicaps infested countries, contributing to their economic demise. Many areas that are known to be poor have raging malaria problems, such as India, Haiti, Central Africa, and Northeast South America. These places all line up practically perfectly with countries on the lower end of the spectrum of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Research conducted by John Luke Gallup and Jeffrey D. Sachs of the Center of International Development at Harvard shows that among countries with populations greater than a million, malarial countries have an average GDP less than one-fifth that of other countries.

While America and similarly rich countries may be able to handle this influx of disease, many more lack the resources needed to fight back, like vaccines, treatments, and insect repellent. This divide follows the common theme of how climate change targets lower income countries that contribute only a fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions fueling climate change. For example, India suffered massive heatwaves this summer, despite having very few emissions until recently. We must protect against vector-borne diseases, but they’re only one piece of the larger problem.

While areas may be affected differently by vector-borne diseases, no area is free from what climate change will do to our Earth. Malaria is only one of the many diseases that could make their way to areas nearer to the poles, so we need to be prepared. Countries must put effort into preventing disease outbreaks instead of reacting after a disease starts filling up hospital beds. Even as an individual, one can avoid getting sick by using bug spray and covering exposed skin if possible throughout the summer. Stuyvesant students can get involved too by recycling and reusing materials. For students in New York, there are opportunities to work with environmental groups and attend protests. Though you can’t control the actions of global superpowers by yourself, you can take steps to help out.

We cannot back down from protecting public health, even as we try to resume our lives after COVID-19. Now that we’ve seen firsthand how this pandemic not just caused deaths but also affected education, labor, and the economy, we need to put effort into preventing it from happening again. We need politicians to stay vigilant about keeping people safe rather than turning away from the problem. More than that, we must hold companies accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions. The only way to prevent the amplifying effects climate change has begun to and will continue to have on these diseases is to reach net zero emissions. We must do everything we can to avoid massive breakouts of diseases and quell future infections. Climate change will affect every aspect of our lives. We can’t let any part of this issue be unknown.