Using geoengineering to slow global heating risks malaria rise, say scientists

Scientists have found that engineering to prevent the worst impacts of climate breakdown could expose up to a billion more people to Malaria.

The first assessment of how climate engineering could affect the burden of infectious diseases was published in Nature Communications.

Solar radiation management is the removal of carbon dioxide from the sky and the atmosphere to trap less heat. The latter could be accomplished by spraying particles into the sky to reflect the sun away from the earth.

This study looked at injecting aerosols into the stratosphere that reflect incoming sunlight, which could potentially slow global warming. Though it is often discussed as a way to reduce climate injustice, its potential impacts on health have not been studied.

Malaria could be transmitted in two future scenarios, both with and without global warming. The models identify which temperatures are most suitable for mosquito transmission and how many people live in areas where it is possible.

They found that high temperatures could cause a rise in the disease by reversing declines in the number of malaria parasites. In the high warming scenario, a billion people were at risk of Malaria.

Colin Carlson is an assistant research professor at Georgetown University Medical Center and the lead author of the study. We should be able to add up the risks and benefits if we are going to protect populations on the frontlines of climate change.

Climate crisis may put 8 billion at risk of diseases.

Some areas could be reduced in Malaria while others could be increased. In both scenarios, the authors found that the risk of Malaria in the Indian subcontinent could be substantially reduced by engineering. There would be an increase in risk in south-eastern Asia.

It gets too hot for the malaria parasites on a planet that's too hot for humans.