Climate change drives mosquito habitat northward in Europe

ISTANBUL

A new study sheds light on how climate change is reshaping ecosystems in Europe, revealing the steady northward expansion of the Asian tiger mosquito – an invasive species first spotted in Albania in 1979.

The research, published in Global Change Biology, found that after the mosquito first appeared in Albania in 1979, it spread through Southern Europe and is now moving steadily north, particularly in France.

Using models and recent data, scientists concluded that climate conditions could soon make major Western European cities, including London, Vienna, Strasbourg, and Frankfurt, suitable for the species carrying dengue, Zika and Chikungunya viruses.

“Extrapolating from the results, it is estimated that the mosquito could establish itself in northern France within a decade, from where it could easily reach London, which is already climatically suitable for hosting this vector,” said Andrea Radici, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at Universite de Montpellier.

The study also highlighted the mosquito’s rapid advance in France, with its rate of northward spread accelerating from about six kilometers a year in 2006 to 20 kilometers annually by 2024.