Three government entities yesterday announced that they would jointly study the effects of global warming on the spread of disease-bearing mosquitos in Taiwan.
The study would help authorities develop a comprehensive policy response as mosquito-borne diseases are becoming more prevalent with climate change, officials from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), Taipei City Government and National Mosquito-Borne Disease and Research Center told a news conference in Taipei.
The project would map the distribution of mosquito populations and project their spread to support disease control strategies, said Chen Chin-sheng (陳錦生), the convener of the center’s consultative committee.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
Climate change causes drought and floods, which — especially when occurring in succession — are conducive to the spread of mosquitoes populations and mosquito-borne infections, EPA Deputy Minister Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修) said.
Rising average temperatures and longer periods of heat have led to shifts in the distribution of Taiwan’s mosquito populations, Shen said.
The project would help city and county governments combat the insects, he added.
Scientific models predict that 50 to 60 percent of the world population would by 2085 live in areas where dengue fever is prevalent, said Huang Ching-gi (黃旌集), an assistant researcher at the center.
The models show that the risk of dengue fever transmission in northern Taiwan would increase significantly by 2050, he said.
Climate change is correlated to higher risk of dengue transmission, as mosquitoes — the main vector of the disease — thrive at high temperatures, he said.
The models show that mosquitoes would carry the disease to regions further to the north and at higher altitudes, he added.
The government study would divide Taiwan in 10km2 research areas, and in its first phase focus on Taipei and high-altitude areas, Huang said.
The next phase would add New Taipei City and Taichung, he said.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
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