Why we already suffer from mosquito bites before the arrival of summer

If we add heat and humidity, the answer will always be the same: mosquitoes. So if climate change continues with its unstoppable progress, don't be surprised if we have to suffer from these uncomfortable insects throughout the year, at least in some regions of Spain and the world..

In our country and in others located outside the tropical regions, mosquitoes are somewhat seasonal, they are only active during the warmer months, but scientists are already warning of this other possibility due to the increase in temperatures.

Make yourself comfortable and prepare repellent or mosquito net, especially if you are prone to their bites.

Are there more mosquitoes because of climate change?

According to scientists, it is not so much that there are more, but that they arrive before. With global warming, springs and summers are getting longer each year, and winters are shorter and not so cold.. This causes the period of time in which the mosquitoes are hibernating due to the cold, the diapause, to be shorter and for this reason they appear in months in which they should not yet be flying.

tiger mosquitoes in january

Last January, entomologists from the Mosquito Alert citizen science project already warned of the presence of tiger mosquitoes around the city of Barcelona. Something unthinkable until now that was detected in the first weeks of this year 2023. A fact that is better understood if we see that, according to the AEMET, the month of December was the warmest since there are records.

In southern Spain, for its part, several studies have confirmed that some tiger mosquito populations have managed to adapt to the climate and no longer need to hibernate.

What risks does this have for humans?

Mosquitoes are great transmitters of diseases. They act as vectors, that is, they do not suffer from the diseases but they pass them from one living being to another: they bite an infected animal or person, they fly away carrying the virus in their mouths, and they bite another healthy person at the same time. what are they contagious.

If the activity of these insects increases, and therefore also the time we live with them, the greater the risk of these diseases spreading.

What diseases can they transmit?

The bite of some mosquitoes can transmit, for example: malaria, dengue, yellow fever, Zika, West Nile virus, Chikungunya….

All these diseases are really serious and can seriously compromise our health.

What can we do to prevent their spread?

Citizen participation to prevent the spread of mosquitoes is essential. The administration has its share of work in the prevention and control of its expansion, but it cannot reach the interior of our homes where in too many occasions the outbreaks originate.

Everyday gestures such as leaving a plate with water under a flower pot, buckets with stagnant water or having stagnant water in a pet drinking fountain for several days in a row contribute to the proliferation of mosquitoes. That water should be changed twice a week to avoid this.