Climate change and deforestation helping mosquitos thrive

As the Atlantic Forest dwindles mosquitoes end up feeding more on humans out of convenience — and the risk of disease increases

Female mosquitos need a blood-meal to form eggs. With few humans living on Brazil’s Atlantic fringe long ago, wild mammals must have provided most of the blood. But that was to change when the sugar planters arrived...

It’s an ill wind that blows no good — John Heywood,  Proverbs (1546).

Spring moves about four kilometres northwards each year, due to climate change. Plants can’t match this hectic pace. Some move eight times more slowly. Trees can’t pull up their roots and leave when facing challenges, so they find coping with climate change’s impact particularly tough.