Climate itself is a basic determinant of the distribution of malaria in the world. As the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains, “Climate can influence all three components of the life cycle. It is thus a key determinant in the geographic distribution and the seasonality of malaria.” Thus for anopheles mosquitoes there needs to be adequate rainfall to create stable breeding sites that will neither dry up nor be washed away for a 9-12 day period. Then survival of the malaria parasite within the adult mosquito requires ambient temperatures of 15C and higher for P. vivax and … Continue reading Malaria and climate change