Extreme Weather Events and Malaria Outbreaks: Impacts of Floods, Droughts, and Cyclones on Vector Distribution and Transmission Dynamics
Extreme weather events (EWEs), floods, droughts, and cyclones are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate change. These events alter malaria epidemiology by reshaping Anopheles vector ecology, breeding site availability, vector survival, and human exposure patterns. Floods can both suppress and amplify vector populations depending on hydrological dynamics; droughts concentrate human–vector contact around residual water sources; cyclones restructure landscapes and disrupt health systems, facilitating outbreaks. This review synthesizes current evidence on how EWEs influence malaria vector distribution, species composition, vectorial capacity (VC), and outbreak risk, with emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other endemic regions. Mechanistic pathways, ecological thresholds, and implications for surveillance and control are discussed.