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Desert Grasshopper Larva | news.un.org

What happens in the face of drought?

If rainfall has created an army of locusts, then drought probably won’t bring insects, right? In fact, drought may not be a good thing for locusts, but it will allow another insect, mosquito, to rise. Whenever the climate of a subtropical country becomes dry, it is the time for mosquito breeding. (5) .

Because of continued drought, vegetation cover will decrease, The surface soil gradually exposed. Once rainfall occurs, it is easy to form water and soil loss, and the creeks and rivers that flooded will eventually form countless small puddles or even dead pools. These puddles lack fish, and without natural enemies, mosquitoes can naturally breed in large numbers without any fear, and then diseases caused by mosquito bites may erupt, such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, etc. (5) .

Take malaria as an example, it has played an important role in the history of human replacement. It is not as fast as other plague diseases, but it will slowly torture infected people and drain their last strength. Many environmental historians nowadays consider malaria to be one of the important factors leading to the extinction of Greece and Rome. (Although malaria was still an unknown disease at the time) .

For example, Alexander the Great, who was invincible, but died suddenly under the age of 33. One of the speculations about his death was malaria. This is because he died of high fever, only ten days later. He was in Babylon City at the time of his death, and it was June, when the local malaria season was high.

Alexander the Great Sculpture | Wikimedia Commons

If you look at the history of Europeans invading Africa, you will find that before the large number of cheap quinine sales, the “meeting gifts” Africa gave to the invaders were tropical diseases, including dengue fever, yellow fever, black urine, and other Intestinal parasites. In the early 19th century, Belgians enthusiastically developed the Congo, but only seven percent of them can stay for three years. Most people will die from malaria or other diseases. “Remarks”> (5) .

Even today, according to the World Health Organization, one child dies of malaria every two minutes.It is worrying that malaria cases in some countries have been increasing in recent years. (6) .

Climate change poses health risks

From a statistical point of view, climate change may fluctuate a little, but the chain reaction and impact behind it must not be underestimated. A temperature increase of only one degree may cause 300,000 people in the world. (7) . A report from the World Health Organization (WHO) has assessed the health impacts and impacts of climate change in detail. There are two main types:

1. The direct impacts are mainly environmental pressures such as high-temperature heat waves, pollution, and floods;