photo credit: James Gathany/CDC (public domain)

It’s coming some time and maybe…

The Asian tiger mosquito originates in hot and muggy South East Asia. But international trade, tourism and (increasingly) climate change will enable the tropical disease-carrying insect to establish itself in northern Europe, including the UK.

Reports last September from the US told of how the smaller, but more aggressive Asian tiger mosquito was causing problems in the states of California, Texas, Florida and Hawaii; and cities including Memphis, New Orleans and Washington DC.

In Europe, the Asian tiger has already encroached upon parts of Italy, Spain, southern France, the Balkans and even The Netherlands. Italy experienced an outbreak of chikungunya fever, brought back by a tourist who visited India. Dengue cases have also been documented in Germany and France. As the climate changes, these outbreaks are predicted to become more frequent.

From the Independent:

Computer simulations of how the climate in Europe has changed over the past half-century and of how it is likely to change in the coming decades suggest that conditions across wider areas of northern Europe will become more favourable for the mosquito, says a study by scientists from Liverpool University and the Government’s Health Protection Agency.

Those countries whose climates are becoming wetter and hotter are the ones at risk, while areas becoming drier, like southern Spain, are turning less hospitable to the Asian tiger mosquito.

But it’s already established a foothold in Europe.

From an AFP article:

As of last December, the mosquito was present in more than 15 countries, from southern Spain to parts of Greece and Turkey, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

I’ll make sure I pack a good repellent on my next holiday.

photo by Rob Ireton (Flickr CC)

Over the next century, what kind of impact will climate change have on California’s coastlines?

Though coastal properties are prized for their views, they are ultimately a temporary luxury. In the long run, the closer to the beachfront a building is, the more susceptible it is to erosion, storms and sea air. Add rising sea levels into the equation and you’ve got prime real estate that risks being damaged sooner and more severely than previously anticipated.

Economists at San Francisco State University in California predict rising sea levels due to climate change will have disastrous impacts on tourism, recreation and wildlife along the state’s coast.

From the LA Times:

Venice Beach could lose up to $440 million in tourism and tax revenue if the Pacific Ocean rises 55 inches by 2100 as scientists predict, according the study commissioned by the California Department of Boating and Waterways.

Another worrying impact on California’s environment – of globalization, if not yet climate change – is the arrival of Asian Tiger mosquitoes. It is not known how the smaller, yet more aggressive mosquitoes arrived in California, but they have already caused problems in the US states of Texas, Florida and Hawaii as well as the cities Memphis, New Orleans and Washington DC.

From another piece in the LA Times:

The insect, Aedes albopictus, is native to Southeast Asia and can transmit viruses the common mosquito cannot, such as yellow fever, chikungunya and the sometimes-fatal dengue fever. They also can spread parasites that cause heartworm in cats and dogs.

And it’s not just in the US. Asian Tiger mosquitoes have also been discovered in Germany and Italy. Meanwhile in the UK, an increase of reports of bug bites and warmer, wetter weather is causing some experts to be concerned.

With climate change, we have to accept that our climate may become more suitable for insects that would not have survived here previously, and they might bring problems we haven’t had to deal with in the past.

–Richard Moseley, technical manager with the British Pest Control Association (BPCA)

On the other hand, Dr James Logan, lecturer in medical entomology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, believes the risks in the UK are small due to a lack of concrete evidence for any increase in mosquito numbers and a firm belief in the ability of the UK’s health system to deal with any possible outbreak of tropical disease.

Read more on that story in the Yorkshire Post.

And will proposed cuts to a cash-strapped National Health Service (NHS) have any effect on that ability to deal with a potential tropical disease outbreak?