Giving Compass' Take:

• According to new research, the rising temperatures caused by climate change is going to allow mosquitoes to breed at a faster rate and in effect, make the diseases they carry more lethal.  

• What impact can funding have in slowing or stopping the spread of mosquito-related illnesses? How can nonprofits and other aid organizations lend a hand in this field?

• Learn more about how climate change is a key factor in mosquito-borne illnesses. 

Mosquitoes are unrelenting killers. In fact, they are among the most lethal animals in the world. When they carry dangerous viruses or other organisms, a bite can be unforgiving. They cause millions of deaths every year from such infectious diseases as malaria, dengue, Zika, chikungunya, yellow fever and at least a dozen more.

But here’s the really bad news: climate change is expected to make them even deadlier. As the planet heats up, these insects will survive winter and proliferate, causing an estimated billion or more new infections by the end of the century, according to new research.

“Plain and simple, climate change is going to kill a lot of people,” said biologist Colin J. Carlson, a postdoctoral fellow in Georgetown University’s biology department, and co-author of the study, published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. “Mosquito-borne diseases are going to be a big way that happens, especially as they spread from the tropics to temperate countries.”

Read the full article on how climate change and rising temperatures will affect mosquitoes by Marlene Cimons at Medium.