Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2015 21:02:31 +0100
M&G Africa Reporter
The mosquito, already the world's deadliest, is set to further thrive if global warming is not reined in. A deal in Paris could yet save the day.
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POPE Francis is on a six-day tour of Africa, which Western media rushed to dub the riskiest of his papacy so far.
Their justification was that this trip takes him to Kenya and Uganda, which have suffered attacks from Islamist militants Al-Shabaab, and to the Central African Republic which has struggled to come to grips with sectarian conflict.
Francis however shrugged off the safety fears, joking that he was “more worried about the mosquitoes”.
He was also very serious: the mosquito, despite its tiny frame, belongs to the deadliest animal family in the world. It has had more impact on African history than many realise. It was instrumental in defining mass movements of groups in Africa, and indeed the story of colonialism would have been markedly different today had colonisers been able to come to terms with malaria.
But Francis’ quip also comes at a particularly apt time—a major meeting on climate change opens next week in Paris, and the pope has made the environment a major pillar of his papacy. In Kenya he delivered a stark message warning it would be “catastrophic” if an agreement is not reached at the UN climate summit which opens on Monday.
Mosquito-borne diseases are expected to increase with climate change, and could between 2030 and 2050 result in an additional 60,000 deaths per year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), contributing to the total of additional 250,000 deaths a year expected to be caused by global warming.
Malaria already kills around 800,000 people per year.
Global warming could also facilitate the spread of infectious diseases which depend on carriers such as mosquitoes, according to interviews carried out by news agency AFP.
WHO said that climate change is likely to lengthen the transmission seasons of these “vector-borne” diseases—which are spread by a vector, or carrier—and to alter their geographic range.
Mosquitoes also spread the deadly dengue fever, and some studies suggest that global warming could lead to two billion more people being at risk from the disease by 2080.
Ahead of the COP 21, as the UN meeting is called, there are other grim health impacts—both direct and indirect— that climate change could cause.
Patrice Halimi, the secretary general of France’s environmental health association, said it is a multi-faceted issue.
“Like any other slow-onset disaster, there is not one cause that leads to one effect,” he said. “It’s a series of events.”
Halimi said it is not necessarily global warming itself that would lead to a cholera epidemic, but warmer temperatures conducive to deadly outbreaks.
Scorching temperatures can cause cardiovascular and respiratory problems, especially in elderly people, with the frequency and intensity of heatwaves increasing-2015 is already being seen as the hottest year on record.
And with more sunlight comes more UV-related risks, like skin cancer. Climate change will also lead to increased deaths from natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes.
Forest fires from global warming can result in more fine particles in the air, which are capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and can lead to lung cancer and asthma.
Around 300 million people suffer from asthma worldwide, and WHO says the “ongoing temperature increases are expected to increase this burden.”
Weather-related disasters have tripled since the 1960s, WHO says, adding that “every year, these disasters result in over 60,000 deaths, mainly in developing countries.”
For pope Francis, who has made concern for the poor and underprivileged the focus of his time on office, the environment is no laughing matter.