Iceland Reports First Mosquitoes as New Report Sparks Climate Concern

Iceland reported the presence of mosquitoes in the country for the first time in recorded history this week, showing signs of our warming world.

Iceland has long been known for its volcanoes, glaciers, hot springs, and waterfalls, but it was also known by many people as the only country in the world without mosquitoes. Due to Iceland's position in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and the cold climate, mosquitoes could never live in Iceland.

However, now, they can. A farmer living north of Reykjavík discovered three living Culiseta annulata mosquitoes in Iceland this week, proving that temperatures have warmed enough for them to live there. Researchers deduced that the insects were likely carried to Iceland on some sort of ship, like other mosquitoes that had previously arrived on the island, but no mosquito species had been able to survive in Iceland's barren, harsh climate until now.

This leaves Antarctica as the last place on Earth without mosquitoes– a pesky insect that many human beings wish only existed in Antarctica.

The sighting is yet another piece of evidence that our world is warming at a rapid pace, with emissions from human activities releasing more and more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Additionally, the Arctic is warming over twice as fast as the rest of the world, leading to a paradoxical albedo effect.

The Sun warms the ice at the poles, creating melting. Because of this melting, the white ice, which previously reflected sunlight, gives way to the darker ocean waters below. These darker waters absorb more sunlight, which warms the area further and melts more ice.

The finding also comes just after the release of a report that proves that humans are not doing enough to stop climate change. The Paris Agreement, established in 2015 to stop warming of 1.5°C before 2030, outlined 45 key indicators that would determine if humans were doing enough to decrease the world's warming.

The new report found that not a single one of the 45 key indicators is on track to meet 2030 goals, with some even traveling in the opposite direction. According to the study, six of them are "off track," 29 are "well off-track," five are going in the wrong direction, and five were left undetermined due to a lack of sufficient data.

Solutions that were working before have slowed down– EV manufacturing was growing at a rapid rate across the world, but new policies from the United States and European countries have slowed that growth back down. Meanwhile, financing for climate projects from both the private sector and the public has increased, but not enough to stop global warming.

The study found that there were numerous parameters needed to reach the Paris Agreement's goals, and many of them already seem out of reach. Coal must decline over 10 times faster than today's rate, deforestation must decrease nine times faster, alternative transit services must grow five times faster, and climate financing must grow by almost $1.1 trillion annually– as a comparison, current climate financing is growing at a rate of around $81 billion per year.

While these statistics may make these goals seem unattainable, preventing the worst scenario of global warming is still possible. Climate change will have effects on our environment, but with swift action, the world can still limit those changes for a better world in the future.

Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): Walt Disney was struck with the inspiration to create Disneyland while watching a Merry-Go-Round from a bench in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think. (Benjamin Disraeli)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Frolic (verb, FRAH-lik) - To frolic is to play and move about happily.

In a Sentence: We watched the seals as they frolicked in the harbor.

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