Climate change worsens as Iceland confirms mosquito sightings in historic first

Iceland has for the first time in history confirmed the sightings of mosquitos, a worrying development depicting the worsening climate change.

The rapid global warming has led to mild winters, making the country vulnerable to frequent mosquito invasions.

Until now, Iceland was one of the few places in the world completely devoid of mosquito population.

Antarctica is now the only place which does not host these insects due to freezing temperatures, according to World Population Review.

Björn Hjaltason, a local resident, found the mosquitoes and posted about it on the Facebook group, “At dusk on October 16, I caught sight of a strange fly on a red wine ribbon,” Björn said, referring to the trap he uses to attract insects. “I immediately suspected what was going on and quickly collected the fly. It was a female.”

Last week, three specimens of the cold-tolerant Culiseta annulata were discovered in West Iceland.

According to researchers, if the climate remains hot with rapid heating, these mosquitoes could establish themselves in Iceland and breed in ponds and marshes.

Matthías Alfreðsson, an entomologist at the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, confirmed the findings.

“Three specimens of Culiseta annulata were found in Kiðafell, Kjós, two females and one male. They were all collected from wine ropes during wine roping aimed at attracting moths,” he added.

More worryingly, these species found in Iceland are cold-resistant and can even survive harsh climatic conditions.

In recent times, Iceland has been at the forefront of global warming four times as fast as the rest of the northern hemisphere as reported by World Weather Attribution.

On a global level, more species of mosquitos have been found due to high temperatures driven by climate change. The UK witnessed the eggs of the Egyptian mosquito (Aedes aegypti).

Moreover, an Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) was found in Kent. Europe is also grappling with mosquito-borne illness, such as dengue and malaria.

Mosquito-based endemics already exist in Sab-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.