How El Nino, a ‘silent killer’ could impact health, food, economy; poses 'new risk, but not a gamechanger' experts say
global warming, could extend beyond mere weather fluctuations. The warming trend resulting from El Nino could have significant health implications. Vector-borne diseases, like malaria and dengue, have been observed to spread as temperatures rise.
Experts caution that the conjunction of El Nino and ongoing global warming could exacerbate this trend. "We can see from previous El Ninos that we get increases and outbreaks of a wide range of vector-borne and other infectious diseases around the tropics, in the area that we know is most affected by El Nino," stated Madeleine Thomson on August 10, head of climate impacts at the Wellcome Trust charity as reported by AFP. The surge in these diseases stems from the dual effects of El Nino: abnormal rainfall expanding breeding sites for disease vectors such as mosquitoes, and elevated temperatures accelerating the transmission of various infectious diseases.
For instance, an El Nino event in 1998 was linked to a significant malaria outbreak in the Kenyan Highlands. Also read: Mint Explainer: How a strong El Nino would hamper India’s monsoon & agriculture While it's complex to precisely quantify El Nino's role in extreme weather events like wildfires, heatwaves alone pose substantial health hazards. Gregory Wellenius, leading a climate and health centre at Boston University, emphasised the threat of heatwaves.
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