Climate change redrawing Africa's malaria map, raising risk in South Africa
A landmark study published in Nature reveals that climate change is reshaping Africa's malaria map, increasing the disease's risk in South Africa's north-eastern provinces and the East African highlands, even as some current hotspots become less suitable for transmission.
Climate change is altering the malaria map in Africa, according to a study published in Nature. The disease is becoming more prevalent in cooler regions such as South Africa's north-eastern provinces and the East African highlands. Conversely, some current malaria hotspots are becoming less suitable for transmission, particularly in West Africa and the Sahel.
The study analysed over 50,000 medical surveys spanning 116 years to measure the impact of human-caused climate change on malaria's spread. Malaria remains a significant killer, with an estimated 282 million cases and 610,000 deaths worldwide in 2024, with 95% of cases and deaths occurring in Africa. Children under five account for about 76% of malaria deaths on the continent.
Temperature plays a crucial role in malaria transmission, with the disease spreading best around 25°C. The changing climate is redrawing the malaria map, making the disease worse in some regions while pushing it toward elimination in others. According to MyJoyOnline Ghana, the research was led by Colin J. Carlson of Yale University and involved the Climate Impact Lab at the University of Chicago and the African Climate and Development Initiative at the University of Cape Town.
Brief written by urgent.news from Mail and Guardian, Health-e News, MyJoyOnline Ghana, Phys.org — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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