Climate Change Shifts Malaria Risk Across Africa

A Nature study finds that human-caused warming has redistributed childhood malaria risk across sub-Saharan Africa rather than uniformly increasing it. Risk has risen in cooler high-elevation and southern areas, including parts of East Africa, while hotter parts of West Africa have seen reduced suitability for transmission as temperatures move beyond the estimated optimum. The researchers project further localized shifts this century, but stress that healthcare, vector control, treatment, surveillance, economic conditions, and public policy remain more influential than climate in determining overall malaria burden.