Mosquitoes In Iceland? Climate Change Adds Bugs To "Cold" Nation

Thanks to a warming planet, mosquitoes have been
found for the first time in Iceland. The bugs, and
the diseases they carry, have been heading into 
colder areas largely because of climate change. 

 Mosquitoes have invaded Iceland. 

The cold island in the North Atlantic was considered too nippy for mosquitoes to take hold. 

But thanks to climate change, it's toasty enough in Iceland for those nasty little buggers. 

Per ABC News:

"The disease-carrying insects twas first spotted by insect enthusiast Bjorn Hjalstason, who posed to Facebook group 'insects in Iceland' about a 'strange fly' he spotted on Oct. 16."

Since then, three mosquitoes, two females, one male, have been caught in Iceland. 

ABC News again: 

"The mosquitoes are Culiseta annulata, a cold-tolerant species that live in the Palearctic region, which includes northern Africa, Europe and Asia north of the Himalayas, according to the National Institutes of Health."

It's the most common mosquito in the UK, and has been found in Canada and the northern United States. 

Until recently, Iceland was too cold for mosquitoes. They breed in warm, stagnant water, like in buckets, drainage ditches, flower pots and discarded tires. 

In the good old days, standing water in Iceland was too cold for mosquitoes. But thanks to climate change, not anymore. A mosquito "dumb" enough to find itself in Iceland is no longer guaranteed an immediate, frigid death. 

Or at least its offspring might survive. They'll survive in basements and barns and other protected places around Iceland. 

Pretty much the whole world is warming due to climate change. Iceland is warming at a rate four times faster than the rest of the northern hemisphere.

This year, Iceland had a long, hot summer, at least by their standards. It started early, with a May heat wave bringing Icelandic temperatures to as high as 80 degrees, which was by far unprecedented for that time of year. 

The early start of this year's Iceland summer might have helped mosquitoes gain a foothold. 

MOSQUITO DISEASES HEAD NORTH

Meanwhile, places that already have mosquitoes are finding that diseases spread by these bugs are also spreading north, thanks to climate change.  For the first time, mosquitoes in the UK had the West Nile virus, which in rare cases can cause severe illness or even death in humans. 

Experts also said mosquito-borne disease like dengue and chikungunya could become endemic in Europe soon as the continent warms. 

A type of insect called the tiger mosquito is moving north into Europe as the area becomes toasty enough to allow the mosquito to survive.  Dengue outbreaks have already hit Italy, Croatia, France and Spain. 

Here in the United States, the tiger mosquito (the one that spreads dengue) is on the move north in tune with climate change. They've been spotted as far north as southern New England.

As they move north, subsequent generations of this mosquito evolve to survive slightly lower temperatures. 

That makes them more likely to stick around. 

Because of climate change here in Vermont, we're getting warmer and wetter, the drought this summer and autumn notwithstanding. The hotter and soggier it gets, the more mosquitoes thrive. So if those bugs bother you every summer, they're going to bother you even more, and for a greater portion of the year as time goes by. 

 

Yes. Vermont/Northeast Dangerous EEE Outbreak Likely Influenced By Climate Change

 Just great.

Eastern equine encephalitis, spread by certain mosquito
breeds is in Vermont. Climate change increases the risk
that this dangerous disease would be present. 

Like many Vermonters, I now find myself fearing mosquitoes instead of just being annoyed by them. 

THE EEE OUTBREAK

Eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE is here.  It's still a pretty rare disease, but it's often fatal or permanently debilitating to its victims. 

A New Hampshire man has died of the disease, and another person in Vermont's Chittenden County tested positive for EEE.  

The virus is turning up in lots of mosquito samples, especially in northwestern Vermont. Residents of several towns in that part of the state are being told to stay indoors from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. to avoid possibly infected mosquitoes. 

This whole thing is getting pretty disruptive. 

Big outdoor events are being canceled.  In Burlington, the sold out Oktoberfest on the waterfront, which had been scheduled for September 20 and 21, has been canceled over EEE fears. Ticket holders for that event are in the process of being refunded. 

Also in Burlington, Summervale, a weekly food and entertainment event in the Intervale, canceled its final two days on August 29 and September 5 due to the threat.

The Intervale is along the delta of the Winooski River right before it enters Lake Champlain. The Winooski flooded this summer, leaving many pools of standing water which bred mosquitoes. I did a little volunteer work with flood recovery at one of the farms down there in late July. I could NOT believe how thick the clouds of mosquitoes were. 

Schools in the communities that are high alert - think Colchester, Burlington, Swanton, Alburgh - are trying to move games and matches to safer areas. 

Other outdoor events are looking for indoor alternate spaces. 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Our warming world does not cause EEE. A virus does.

But climate change creates the conditions in which the disease can get a foothold and spread. 

Grist reports that climate change is a major driver of the disease, especially in the Northeast. That's for a variety of reasons. 

Earlier last frost of the season in the spring and later first autumn frosts give mosquitoes a longer window in which to breed. (The last time Burlington had subfreezing temperatures was on April 26).

Hot, humid summers encourage mosquitoes as that makes their metabolism rise, so they'll want to feed more. We just got through our third hottest summer and by many measures the most humid on record. 

Finally, heavier rains create more mosquitoes. We just got through one of our rainiest summers on record. The more rain you get, and fewer dry spells in between the showers, the more stagnant pools of water you get. That's where mosquitoes breed. It doesn't help that rivers and streams flooded back in July. As those floodwaters receded, they left big pools of standing water. Perfect for those little buggers to multiply. 

The hot summer made those pools of water warm, which reduces the incubation period for the type of mosquito that spreads EEE. Shorter incubation periods mean more mosquitoes. 

Additionally, warmer winters can make some mosquito species survive more effectively. Last winter was the warmest in record in the Champlain Valley. 

This year's EEE problem in Vermont will go away when the first hard freeze hits later this fall. Of course, we don't know know exactly when that might happen. 

But climate change is working against us even there. A warmer world increases the chances that are first big subfreezing cold blast of the autumn will hit later than it historically did. Last year, Burlington didn't have its first freeze of the season until Halloween. That was the latest or second latest initial freeze of the season on record, depending on whether you consider where the temperature was recorded. 

EEE tends to come and go in multi-year waves. But climate change helps increase the likelihood of future outbreaks, since the world - and Vermont - will continue to warm. 

Maybe this year will buck the trend and give us an early freeze. We can only hope. Meanwhile, wear long sleeves and pants, and pass the bug spray, please.  

Humid, Wet Summer In Vermont Caused Garden Woes, And Mosquito, Lake Dangers

Despite frequent applications of Neem oil and copper fungicide, 
the hot, humid summer encourage pests which took an
unusual toll on this rose mallow plant in St. Albans, Vermont.

Funguses, pests and other ills are diminishing backyard gardens.  Algae blooms have occasionally made parts of Lake Champlain unsafe.  Mosquito-borne dangers like West Nile disease loom. 

Blame all this on one of Vermont's hottest, wettest and definitely the most humid summer on record. Our northern ecosystem isn't used to this weirdly tropical weather. 

By at least one measure, Vermont had its most humid summer on record. At least since the 1940x, anyway. According to meteorologists at WPTZ-TV:

"Burlington has....recorded its most humid summer on record (through Aug. 19, going back to 1948.  There have been over 220 hours (almost 10 full days) of oppressive humidity so far this summer. 'Oppressive' refers to dew points of 70 degrees or higher."

The previous record was 200 hours in 1994.

All this has had its effects. I told you the other day that the type of summer we had will probably contribute to extra bouts of fog this autumn. 

But there are worse issues going around than fog. 

Water in Lake Champlain reached record high temperature of around 80 degrees in early to mid August. Meanwhile, this summer's floods discharged mud, pollution, phosphorus and other yucks into Lake Champlain, hindering water quality goals, as VTDigger points out. 

These flood discharges, working in concert with warm lake water temperatures, contribute to cyanobacteria, a blue-green algae that looks like thick pea soup or a paint spill, according to at least one lake biologist.

While much of this algae is relatively harmless, if incredibly yucky, some of it can turn toxic, making people ill who swim in it. It's also known to kill dogs who venture into it.  Satellite images revealed a large outbreak of this algae across the northern end of Lake Champlain in early August. 

Mosquitoes have had a field day this summer, what with all the rain we've had, and the humidity, and the heat. Illnesses such as West Nile and eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE have been detected in Vermont mosquitoes this summer.

This type of thing happens almost every summer, but this year's weather has made the problem all the more likely. 

West Nile has been detected in at least one mosquito pool up in Alburgh, and EEE has been found in mosquitoes in northwestern Vermont. 

Home gardeners like me have seen issues in shrubs and in both perennial and vegetable gardens. Fungus, powdery mildew and an influx of insects have dimmed the glory of many gardens, or have at least frustrated gardeners.

Finally, the hot, wet summer could have an effect on this fall's foliage season.  It's too soon to tell, but sometimes, the fungi that frustrate gardens can infiltrate leaves in our forests. While these fungi ultimately don't hurt the trees, they can make leaves turn a dull brown and fall off prematurely. Which is a bummer if you're hoping for a brilliant foliage season.