Why Are We Seeing So Many Mosquitoes This Summer?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Many of us have noticed this summer feels even hotter and buggier than usual.
We're seeing more mosquitoes this year, which is connected to the latest weather trends.
The culprit is warm and humid air: temperatures between 50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with a relative humidity of 42% or more. Those are called "mosquito days" and WCCO's partners at Climate Central have found that across the U.S., mosquito days are increasing in 64% of the cities they looked at.
Here in the Twin Cities in the 1980s, we had 114 days where mosquitoes were possible. Now in the 2010s, mosquitoes are possible 120 days per year, an increase in six days annually.
But in Duluth, it's even worse.
There are now 16 more days on average per year with mosquitoes than there were in the 1980s.
It's caused by a warming trend and climate change. In Minnesota, summer is the slowest warming season. Temperatures for the shoulder seasons of spring and fall which extend the mosquito season are rising much more quickly.