![]() ![]() This allows them to predict where mosquitoes may breed and spread illness.Ĭhanging climate conditions are allowing disease-carrying mosquitoes to expand their reach around the world. Scientists are using NASA satellite data to track vegetation health, rainfall, and temperatures and monitor environmental conditions favorable to mosquitoes. Warmer temperatures are also allowing mosquitoes to breed more quickly and for longer periods of time. Climate-related droughts and extreme weather events are creating new mosquito breeding grounds. As climate warms, the reach of some mosquito-borne diseases is expanding.Ī 2014 study in the journal Science found changing climate conditions are allowing mosquitoes to migrate to higher altitudes and latitudes. Mosquitoes can transmit deadly diseases to humans, like malaria, dengue, Zika, West Nile virus, and chikungunya. They found residential areas covered by plants and trees and located adjacent to woodlands had a higher risk of Lyme disease transmission. Scientists at NASA’s Ames Research Center and New York Medical College combined Landsat imagery with geographic information system technology that helps manage, analyze, and visualize geographic data. ![]() Geological Survey Landsat satellite data can help predict the risk of Lyme disease in high-exposure areas. Previous research demonstrated how NASA/U.S. The scientists combined NASA satellite data with field data of tick surveillance and weather station data to predict habitats suitable to deer ticks. This is happening as global temperatures warm and areas become more habitable to ticks. Researchers recently found that the risk of Lyme disease is expanding north in Canada. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using data from Kotchi, Serge, et al. Researchers mapped where the ticks have become established by combining field data of tick surveillance from previous research, NASA satellite data, and temperature data from meteorological stations. The highest risk values (dark red) expanded significantly on the southern half of the 2015 map. These maps show the average risk of encountering Lyme-disease carrying ticks in central and eastern Canada the risk is directly related to the number of adult deer ticks per square kilometer.
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