Rising heat may add to dengue fatalities: Study

Without timely interventions, dengue deaths could rise significantly by 2030 and further more by 2050, a new paper has warned.

- Jayashree Nandi

NEW DELHI:

A study led by climate scientists, Sophia Yacob and Roxy Mathew Koll from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, sheds light on the intricate links between climate change and dengue in India.

The paper, published in Nature's Scientific Reports reveals that a combination of warm temperatures above 27 degrees C, moderate and evenly distributed rainfall, and humidity levels between 60% and 78% during the monsoon season (June-September) increases dengue incidence and deaths. However, heavy rainfall, above 150 mm a week, reduces the dengue prevalence by flushing out the mosquito eggs and larvae, the study, based on data for Pune, found.

"Our findings point to a significant influence of temperature, rainfall, and relative humidity on dengue mortality in Pune, at a time-lag of 2-5 months, providing sufficient lead time for an early warning targeted at curbing dengue outbreaks," the paper added.