El Nino and rising temperatures can lead to uptick of malaria in Ethiopia, warns research
Study finds link between malaria outbreaks and El Nino events in the country
This year’s El Nino climate event, combined with warming from climate change, could cause a rise in malaria cases in Ethiopia, new research suggests. The country has a history of climate-related malaria outbreaks and the study has corroborated that malaria upsurges in the country often follow El Nino events.
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The study published in Malaria Journal found that El Nino events are strongly related to higher temperatures across the country, drought in north-west Ethiopia during the July–August–September rainy season and unusually heavy rain in the semi-arid south-east during October–November–December (OND).
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Malaria epidemics mostly occur in the country following Kiremt, the researchers found. Widespread epidemics are commonly associated with El Nino events when the maximum recorded temperature at a given station on a given day, also called Tmax, is high and drought is common.
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Malaria control managers should be alert to any warnings of an emerging El Nino event. In addition, climate change is expected to continue its warming trends while increasing rainfall extremes including extreme droughts, the report further said.
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