A recent study shows that the warming planet may increase the rate of malaria in Africa. In areas that are warming malaria has begun to climb to higher altitudes that are warmer as a result of the warming climate. This is threatening populations that once lived in malaria free locations and now have become a place where mosquitoes carrying a plasmodium can now survive.
It is continually surprising to me how much climate can affect life all across the planet. A change in a few degrees can open a gateway for morbid disease. The populations of people that will be exposed to malaria have no history of resistance and will be especially vulnerable. The article predicts that a change in 1 degree Celsius will increase the amount of children affected each year by three million. The ways that a changing climate can destroy our earth and the people in it are limitless and we can make a difference.
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