Explosion in rat numbers across the world confused experts. Turns out, the culprit is...
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Rat population and climate change
Rats are increasing in numbers across the world. Be it Toronto, London, Washington, Amsterdam or any other place. Scientists have been scratching their heads to explain this phenomenon. The answer, it turns out, is pretty straightforward.
Rats are becoming a universal problem, with people from London to Washington, and Toronto to Amsterdam reporting a rise in their numbers. Experts believe the reason for this rat explosion comes down to the rising temperatures. A study to find out the real reason carried out by Bobby Corrigan, an urban rodentologist, tested 16 cities, mostly in North America. It showed that 11 of these cities saw a significant jump in rat activity over a period of between seven and 17 years. The results were published in the journal Science Advances earlier this year, and throw light on the link between the high temperatures and the increase in the number of rats. During this period, the rat population increased by almost 400% in Washington, DC, by 300% in San Francisco, by 180% in Toronto and by 160% in New York. Tokyo, New Orleans and one more city saw a decline in their numbers. "Cities experiencing greater temperature increases over time saw larger increases in rats," the study noted. The temperature rise reached 2 degrees Celsius in some of these places, the BBC reported.
Climate change and rat population
Dr Corrigan says that if the temperatures continue to rise, with winters also becoming warmer, then the rat numbers are also likely to continue to rise. Notably, according to Climate Action Tracker, global temperatures are set to rise between at least 1.9 degrees C and 2.7 degrees C above the pre-industrial average by 2100. This will have a direct impact on the rat population. Meanwhile, the growing trash in the cities is also attracting rats, who are actively coming out of sewers to grab food. Niall Gallagher, technical manager at the BPCA, told the BBC that there are several factors that are leading to the rise in rat population. He says fast food, collection of rubbish less frequently, and road and building works disturbing the sewer network are some reasons for rats swarming the cities.
Keeping a count of rats is nearly impossible since they live in drains, sewers and burrows, and come out mostly at night. In the UK, rats could be anywhere between 10 million to 120 million. It is important to control the rat population as they can spread several diseases. They scavenge in sewers and bins, and are carriers of Leptospirosis (transmitted through their urine) and hantavirus (spread by breathing in infected droppings).
