The relationship between climate and malaria transmission is complex and has been the subject of intense study for some three decades. Mosquito vector populations sufficient to maintain malaria transmission occur within a particular range of temperatures and humidity that are suitable for their survival and breeding. The parasite also needs suitable temperatures to complete its mosquito life stages. And...
limate change kills. Since 2000, nearly four million people worldwide have lost their lives due to floods, wildfires, heat waves, droughts, and other extreme weather events that have been linked to a steadily warming planet, according to a recent estimate in the journal Nature. That sweeping number can make it hard for any of us to grasp how...
Background In Zimbabwe, anthrax is endemic with outbreaks being reported almost annually in livestock, wildlife, and humans over the past 40 years. Accurate modelling of its spatial distribution is key in formulating effective control strategies. In this study, an Ensemble Species Distribution Model was used to model the current and future distribution of anthrax occurrence in...
Unplugged oil and gas wells accelerate climate change, threaten public health and risk hitting taxpayers’ pocketbooks. ProPublica and Capital & Main found that the money set aside to fix the problem falls woefully short of the impending cost. In the 165 years since the first American oil well struck black gold, the industry has punched...
New research takes stock of the impact of passenger flights and, for the first time, air freight at 1,300 airports around the world. New research has revealed the climate and air quality impacts of the world’s worst polluting airports. The 2024 Airport Tracker, produced by think tank ODI in partnership with Transport & Environment, measures...
Zambia has seen a surge in cholera cases since January 2024 with fatalities reaching 700, medical charity Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. The country has recorded nearly 20,000 infections since the outbreak started in October 2023. While at the beginning of the outbreak cases were restricted to Lusaka and Ndola , the two...
Petrochemicals are an environmental and public health disaster. What you need to know. As we move towards zero-emissions and 100% clean energy, the oil and gas industry is launching a last-ditch effort to protect its profit, betting big on petrochemicals: toxic chemicals made from oil and gas that are used to make plastics, industrial chemicals, and...
A recent study published in the journal Nature Geoscience presents evidence that shows that the burning of biomass fuel for cooking, heating, and lighting, the crude oil exploitation and coal mining industries, as well as old vehicles being shipped in from Europe are causing severe deterioration of air quality in African countries. According to the article, particulate matter concentration levels in many African...
New estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) predict a 77% increase in cancer cases globally by 2050. The report points to air pollution as one of the factors driving the expected increase in cancer rates, even though it does not have the same effect on everyone. As a global health watchdog, the WHO rarely has good...
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent’s chief health advisory body, has tied the worst outbreak of cholera in three years to climate change, saying adverse weather is raising the risk of this disease faster than in the rest of the world. That’s as floods in Democratic Republic of Congo — and across...