SANTA FE — On Thursday the New Mexico Senate Conservation Committee unanimously voted to advance a bill that would monitor an invasion of disease-bearing mosquito species that have been spreading across New Mexico for the past decade.
The population explosion of Culex mosquitoes, which carry serious and debilitating diseases such as West Nile virus, are directly linked to climate change, according to a study by Los Alamos National Laboratory. The 2024 study found that rising temperatures increased these populations, which are quickly spreading towards the poles across the Western hemisphere.
The bill seeks funding to monitor mosquitoes, which could help control the spread of diseases.
Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter Dir. Camilla Feibelman spoke to the committee about her own experience (link to video) with mosquito-borne illness. She contracted dengue when she was working in Puerto Rico as the founding staffer for the Sierra Club Chapter there. Now, that same disease could appear more prolifically here in New Mexico.
“This is a price of climate change,” she said. “And we need to decide whether we will pay that price with our health and our families’ health. Or if we’ll opt to take action.”
Now, this aggressive species of mosquito is taking over backyards throughout New Mexico. The species survives in the smallest amount of standing water and persists into late fall. A warming climate allows the mosquito to thrive deeper in the Western hemisphere, from pole-to-pole.
The legislation was introduced by Sen. Nicole Tobiassen (R-Albuquerque).
Tobiassen said the bill was not to comment on the cause of increased mosquito populations, but to monitor their spread in service of efforts to control it.
It is not too late to turn the corner on climate change in New Mexico. The Clear Horizons Act will reset the emissions of greenhouse pollution in the state to net-zero by 2050. It needs your support! Sign our petition at https://sc.org/clear-horizons today.
Contacts:
Camilla Feibelman, Director, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, camilla.feibelman@sierraclub.org
Bill Rodgers, Communications Assoc., Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, bill.rodgers@sierraclub.org
Additional References
Climate change might prompt more mosquitoes to move into New Mexico, SourceNM
LANL study looks at climate change impact on mosquitoes, KOB TV
Projections of Aedes and Culex mosquitoes across North and South America in response to climate change, Journal of Climate Change and Health