Climate Change Will Bring More Large Mosquitoes To The Arctic

An unwelcome guest is making its way to the arctic in record numbers and it could spell problems for local wildlife. According to a new study from Dartmouth College, rising temperatures will cause the mosquito populations in the world’s coldest regions to soon double. Worse yet, those mosquitoes will live longer allowing them to grow bigger than ever before. 

The study, published earlier this month, claims that a 35.6 degree temperature increase in the arctic will make conditions ripe for the pesky bugs to thrive. The Guardian reports that temperatures in the arctic have been rising at double the global average, a trend that is expected to only get worse in the next century if nothing is done to regulate emissions.

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A group of female mosquitoes captured in a study by Dartmouth College. (Lauren Culler)

While they don’t carry the same diseases as mosquitoes in warmer climates, the arctic bugs could still wreak havoc in the tundra. The report says that rising temperatures allow mosquitoes to hatch earlier and develop faster than they usually would. This makes them less susceptible to attacks from predators and more likely to survive to adulthood

http://www.weather.com/science/nature/news/arctic-climate-change-mosquitoes