Tropics Migrating Northward, Hastening Spread of Tropical Diseases
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles 
on 12. 7.07
A trend that has already helped accelerate the spread of certain infectious diseases - the northward movement of tropical regions - could become much worse as global warming continues to intensify. In a recently published article in the journal Nature Geoscience, Dian Seidel of NOAA and her colleagues write about signs they observed in the stratosphere that indicate that tropical climate patterns may have expanded by up to 4.5° of latitude in the Northern hemisphere over the past 25 years.
This movement is much more dramatic than the one predicted by prior climate models, which had suggested an expansion of 2° of latitude north and south - within the next century. To discover this worrying trend, Seidel and her fellow researchers studied five sets of data from 1979 to 2000 containing information about tropical climate pattern indicators, such as ozone concentrations and temperatures. Both were seen to increase, suggesting an expanding tropical belt.
Seidel attributes the large discrepancy between her study's predictions and those made by other climate models to the impact of the stratosphere, which doesn't tend to be well represented in models. Aside from subjecting subtropical and temperate ecosystems to tremendous pressure, Seidel is worried about the unpredictable effects the migrating tropical belt will have on the spread of vectors, such as mosquitoes, and infectious diseases.
Via ::Science: Tropics on the Move (news website), ::National Geographic News: Climate Change Pushing Tropics Farther, Faster (news website)
See also: ::Planting Trees Helps Fight Global Warming, but Only in the Tropics, ::New Worries about Climate Change-Induced Spread of Infectious Diseases
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- 5 Ways Climate Change Will Affect Your Health, Plus How to Cope
- Green Glossary: Cultural Genocide
- Forget Going Green Because It's the Right Thing to Do—Go Green to Make Your Neighbors Jealous
- Green Glossary: Nature Deficit Disorder
- How is Climate Change Affecting Your Region? Find Out with Terrifying Interactive Map
- Take it from a Beatle: Cut Your Carbon Footprint by Making Mondays Meat-Free
