Global warming leads to the spread of malaria in new regions, which were considered safe for people, like midlands of Africa, in particular, Ethiopia.

As a result of temperature increase, people living on the mountain plateau, are increasingly exposed to risk of developing illnesses carried by mosquitoes, said Professor Mercedes Pascual of the University of Michigan (USA). In the future, it is fraught with additional millions of new cases of malaria. «Traditionally, the risk of malaria was reduced by as people climbed in places located at a higher elevation above sea level, » said Pascual.

Now malaria spreads there, too, which is confirmed by the research carried out in densely populated areas of Ethiopia in 1990-2005. «According to our calculations, temperature increase in one degree can lead to 3 mln new cases of malaria a year in the age group below15, » said professor.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, malaria infected around 219 million people in 2010, killing around 660,000 of them - the vast majority in sub-Saharan Africa.