Pirate's Cove

It surely can’t be due to horrible Democrat policies in big cities, right?

Rats! Climate change is helping increase their populations in cities

Humans have done a lot to help rats become one of the most prolific mammals on the planet. We leave out food waste and trash. Our buildings and sewers provide cozy homes. We inadvertently help them cross oceans on ships. Now, burning fossil fuels and heating up the climate can be added to that list.

Rising temperatures seem to be helping rat populations grow faster, according to a new study in the journal Science Advances. Researchers found cities that have seen the most warming had more sightings of rats, an indication that the population has grown.

“Rats are fascinating creatures, but they come with very big issues,” says Jonathan Richardson, professor at the University of Richmond and an author on the study. “One of the key takeaways I hope cities glean is that it’s a problem that’s going to require more resources.” (snip)

They found that denser urban environments and higher human populations helped boost the number of rats. Warmer temperatures seemed to be the biggest influence. Cities with the biggest growth rates were Washington D.C., San Francisco, Toronto, New York City and Amsterdam.

Richardson says it’s likely because rats have more of a chance to reproduce if winters are getting shorter.

And, of course, this is due to anthropogenic climate change, because you had to drive a fossil fueled vehicle.

And the last paragraph

The key for controlling rats is controlling ourselves, Byers says, by better managing food waste and restricting access to trash (“garbage in = rats out“). New York City, long-known for its piles of plastic trash bags and chronic rat problem, has instituted new rules about minimizing the amount of time trash is sitting on the curb and is piloting new trash containers.

Yeah, it’s not the slight increase in global temperatures over 170+ years, it’s human made messes. And, yes, you do have the urban heat island effect in big cities, where it doesn’t cool down as much at night.