Complaint to Ofcom Regarding “The Great Global Warming Swindle”

Malaria was successfully eradicated from Australia, Europe, and the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, but the vectors [i.e. the mosquitoes] were not eliminated (Bruce-Chwatt and de Zulueta, 1980; Zucker, 1996). In regions where the vectors persist in sufficient abundance, there is a risk of locally transmitted malaria. This small risk of very localized outbreaks may increase under climate change. Conditions currently exist for malaria transmission in those countries during the summer months, but few nonimported cases have been reported (Holvoet et al., 1983; Zucker, 1996; Baldari et al.,1998; Walker, 1998). Malaria could become established again under the prolonged pressures of climatic and other environmental-demographic changes if a strong public health infrastructure is not maintained. A particular concern is the reintroduction of malaria in countries of the former Soviet Union with economies in transition, where public health infrastructure has diminished (e.g., Azerbaijan, Russia). [Emphasis added.]

This is a very cautious statement. It makes it quite clear that malaria is not a tropical disease (stating that is was eradicated from temperate regions only quite recently); it states specifically in its third sentence that Anopheles mosquitoes (i.e. those that could carry malaria) do currently live in many temperate countries; and it makes it clear that the reintroduction of malaria into temperate regions due to climate change is highly unlikely, except possibly in countries whose health services break down.

The narrative, both in the above statement and in the statements which follow, attempts to confuse the viewer into believing that where mosquitoes are able to survive, malaria is also likely to be present, as it makes no distinction between the two – but this is quite false, as the film maker must have known. See for example the statement by the malaria specialist Professor Chris Curtis at http://tinyurl.com/2rklxc (PDF), in which he states:

Even though malaria can occur in cool climates, there would tend to be even more malaria where it is hotter. That is because Plasmodium would be more likely to complete its complex development in the mosquito before the mosquito died … However, in fact I do not think it likely that global warming will bring much malaria transmission back to northern Europe because malaria is transmitted from humans to mosquitoes to humans and northern mosquitoes could only become infected from “imported” human cases. However such cases are nearly always promptly treated by the good health services in the north.

The narrative, both in the above statement and in the statements which follow, focuses only on one disease, malaria, and attempts to mislead the viewer into thinking that because malaria is unlikely to spread northwards as a result of climate change, therefore there are no other diseases that are likely to do so. This is false, and is another clear misrepresentation of the facts. For example, Professor Curtis writes (http://tinyurl.com/2rklxc):

In the case of pathogens transmitted from reservoirs in wild mammals (e.g. tick borne encephalitis) or birds (West Nile virus) via arthropods to humans the reservoirs are not treated and establishment or increase of the human disease would presumably depend on, among other things, the effect of climate on the biology of the pathogen and the arthropod vector. I have heard that the less severe winters in Sweden are now causing an increase in tick borne encephalitis.

Continued …