Is Global Warming Spreading Malaria? No
In the early days of global-warming research, scientists argued that warming would worsen malaria by increasing the range of mosquitoes…the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change accepted this as a given. When Paul Reiter, an expert on insect-borne diseases at the Pasteur Institute, begged to differ — pointing out that malaria’s range was shrinking and was limited by factors other than temperature — he had an uphill struggle.
Yet Dr. Reiter has now been vindicated.
More from Matt Ridley on this issue in the WSJ.
The spread of insect-born diseases from climbing global temperatures has long been a concern of many scientists. I think the jury is out on this one, but if trends on malaria hold, that would make for another blow to the global warming alarmists.
What spreads malaria is the continued ban on DDT.
Good point, Alex.
I don’t think this trend will hold long. The insect population will rise and live longer in the coming decades, as global warming continues.
Along with the insect population rising, so too will insect-born infectious diseases.
The spreading of the mosquito plague is just another myth being promulgated by the global warming alarmists.