Daily Times

Oft times we hold an opinion regarding global warming just in terms of extreme weather, but the brunt of global warming augments far beyond natural disasters. Global warming forged new threats for human exposure to mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) i.e. diseases that are transmitted to humans through the bites of mosquitoes that carry the disease-causing pathogens. Global warming is an important factor affecting the dynamics of the mosquito population and, hence, the risk of MBDs. According to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature of Earth has marked up by about 0.8° Celsius (1.4° Fahrenheit). The warmer the climate is, the more suited it is for dangerous mosquitoes to propagate. Under extreme global warming, practically one billion people could serve to these deadly mosquitoes as its host to suffer from a mosquito-borne disease by 2080, new research in PLOS Neglected Tropical Disease reports.

One of the agents of global warming is an upsurge of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which enacts its role in switching on the greenhouse effect. The evolutionary studies of mosquitoes divulged that rising CO2 levels over the years, the more MBDs could have consequences for future human health as the climate continues to be warmer. Many MBDs have been eradicated in areas of Europe, whilst many parts of Asia and Africa still harbour diseases such as Malaria, Yellow fever, Zika virus, and Dengue fever, etc. But now studies are predicting that these escaped creatures are returning along with notorious pathogens it carries, to countries in Europe. The reason for this mosquito incursion is pretty discernible, expressly raised climatic temperature due to global warming. Rising global temperatures can lengthen the season and increase the geographic range of disease-carrying mosquitoes. As temperatures warm, mosquitoes can move into higher altitudes and increasing risk to new regions.

Pakistan is among the most severely hit countries of the world by the process of global warming. According to Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index (Release date: April 2019), Pakistan is positioned at 139th place out of 181 countries on the table. During the last decade, the country also witnessed the emergence of new MDBs popped out in different areas of the country. But authorities never tried to investigate this unusual escalation in the number of MBD cases in different parts of the country with reference to global warming. The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination and the Ministry of Climate Change sniff out 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for acting in right direction, which stated that vector-borne diseases including MBDs are some of the best-studied diseases associated with climate change, due to the vector’s sensitivities to their environments.

Pakistan as of now is facing the inimical effects of the global warming phenomenon on its communities, climate and now on health too. It is the call for the Government of Pakistan to come up with a coordination and engagement plan amidst the health sector and climate change monitors to mutually develop prevention and adaptation programs to reduce the costs and burden of both the disease and global warming. Existing universities and research institutes must be sensitized to realize the severity and seriousness of the situation to conduct research studies to get answers on:

How the mosquito is evolving in a changing climate?

Future of the mosquito in changing climate?

How and why the mosquito species are diversifying?

Impact of global warming on the rate of mosquito’s diversification?

How warming could impact MBDs transmission?

What this might mean for human health in the future? and

How to manage the diseases they carry?

Scientists are of the persuasion that global warming is a looming threat to global health and the future world is going to experience a much larger proportion of the human population to be at risk of pathogens borne by mosquitoes. The rising atmospheric carbon dioxide has been evinced to influence various kinds of organisms, including mosquitoes and other insects. This grim situation provides yet another reason for people sharing a common atmosphere to participate in low-carbon lifestyles.”

The writer works at Lab of Vector and Vector-borne diseases, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS),Beijing, China