Climate change and malaria a complex relationship

Climate change is defined as a statistically significant variation in either the mean state of the climate or in its variability, persisting for an extended period—typically decades or longer—that may be attributed to natural internal processes, external forcing, or persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. Malaria, the world’s most important and deadly tropical mosquito-borne parasitic disease, kills approximately 1 million people and afflicts as many as 1 billion people in 109 countries throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Reducing the impact of malaria will significantly enhance the efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, agreed upon by every United Nations Member State. Variation in climatic conditions, such as temperature, rainfall patterns, and humidity, has a profound effect on the longevity of the mosquito and on the development of malaria parasites in the mosquito and, subsequently, on malaria transmission.