Deadly heat waves
and spread of diseases
More frequent and more intensive heat waves could result in more heat-related deaths. These conditions could also aggravate local air quality problems, already afflicting more than 80 million Americans. Global warming is expected to increase the potential geographic range and virulence of tropical diseases as well.
Example:
- In 2003, extreme heat waves caused more than 20,000 deaths in Europe and more than 1500 deaths in India.
- More than 250 people died as a result of an intense heat wave that gripped most of the eastern two-thirds of the United States in 1999.
- Disease-carrying mosquitoes are spreading as climate shifts allow them to survive in formerly inhospitable areas. Mosquitoes that can carry dengue fever viruses were previously limited to elevations of 3,300 feet but recently appeared at 7,200 feet in the Andes Mountains of Colombia. Malaria has been detected in new higher-elevation areas in Indonesia.