More mosquitoes? Why Canadians could be seeing an uptick this summer and beyond

Parts of the country are seeing higher mosquito numbers than usual amid damp, hot conditions, experts say, raising concerns for related diseases.

Are more mosquitoes bugging you this summer? You’re not alone.

Canada is buzzing with the pesky insects as parts of the country are seeing higher numbers than usual due to damp, hot weather, raising concerns for related diseases, particularly the West Nile virus in humans.

“It certainly seems … anecdotally that it’s a big year for mosquitoes,” said Manisha Kulkarni, a medical entomologist and associate professor at the University of Ottawa.

“We had a warm, wet spring, which seems to help the proliferation of mosquitoes in the early season and with the humidity that we’ve been having and the high temperatures, that’s likely to persist into the summer months.”

Warmer weather amid climate change means Canada could be in for longer mosquito seasons, which typically run from May to October each year, experts say.

And if mosquitoes are active for a larger portion of the year, that poses a “bigger risk” to human, wildlife and animals susceptible to mosquito-borne diseases, said Kulkarni.

“With climate change, the models and projections are just that we’re going to see a more and more northward expansion of these mosquito populations into more and more regions.”

A study published in the Lancet last year predicted that rising global mean temperature will increase the climatic suitability of malaria and dengue, particularly in already endemic areas in the African region, the Americas and the Eastern Mediterranean.