Climate has a significant role in mosquito distribution because of emerging favourable conditions, especially rising temperatures. Globally, climate change projections indicate an increase in mean temperatures of between 1.8 °C and 4 °C by the end of the 21st century. Climate change is likely to affect human health in many ways, from food insecurity and malnutrition to wider risk areas for vector-borne diseases.
How climate influences vector-borne diseases
Climatic change creates new ecological niches for vectors, altering the temporal and spatial distribution of vector-borne disease. Climate change has been implicated as a contributing factor in dengue globally and in the first outbreak of chikungunya virus in a temperate climate. Studies indicate that climate change and variability influence the dynamics and potential spatio-temporal distribution of dengue vectors, and hence the potential for disease endemicity.
Climate-sensitive vector-borne diseases
People knew that climatic conditions affect epidemic diseases long before the role of infectious agents was discovered in the late nineteenth century. Vector-borne diseases sensitive to changes in climatic conditions include dengue, Rift Valley fever, chikungunya, onchocerciasis, malaria, Zika, yellow fever, filariasis, leishmaniasis and Japanese encephalitis.