IN A rare instance of humans beating one of the impacts of climate change, measures to combat malaria appear to be neutralising the expected global increase of the disease driven by rising temperatures.
of the University of Oxford compared a map of the range of malaria in 2007 , when the world was 0.7 掳C cooler. He found the proportion of Earth鈥檚 landmass where malaria is endemic has fallen from 58 per cent to 30 per cent (Nature, vol 465, p 342). Malaria鈥檚 rate of transmission has also fallen almost everywhere.
This indicates that the incidence of malaria may not rise as a result of climate change. 鈥淭he things acting to reduce malaria spread, like improved healthcare and disease control, are much more powerful than the weak effect of warming,鈥� Gething says.
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That doesn鈥檛 mean health authorities can rest on their laurels. , an ecologist at the US Geological Survey, says the positive global picture hides shifting regional ones. Malaria is expected to move to different areas, even as its overall range decreases, he says.
