Singapore is dealing with a dengue "emergency" as a result of an unusually early breakout of the seasonal disease this year.
The Southeast Asian city-state has already reported almost 11,000 cases, significantly above the 5,258 it reported for the entire year of 2021, and this was before June 1, when the peak dengue season begins, CNN reports
Experts warn the figure is frightening not only for Singapore, whose tropical climate makes Aedes mosquitos a natural breeding site, but for the rest of the world. Climate change is projected to make outbreaks like these more common and extensive.
Dengue symptoms include a high fever, severe headaches, and body aches. Bleeding, breathing difficulties, organ failure, and even death can occur in extreme circumstances.
"[Cases] are definitely rising faster," said Singapore's minister for home affairs Desmond Tan on the sidelines of a neighborhood inspection for dengue mosquitoes. "It's an urgent emergency phase now that we have to deal with."
According to experts, the outbreak in Singapore has been exacerbated by recent extreme weather, and the country's situation could be a foreshadowing of what's to come worldwide as more countries endure prolonged hot weather spells and thunderstorms that aid in the spread of mosquitoes and the virus they carry.
The world saw a record 5.2 million cases of dengue fever in 2019, with outbreaks across Asia killing thousands, according WHO official data. Hundreds of people perished and millions more were put at danger in the Philippines when the country proclaimed a nationwide dengue outbreak, hospitals in Bangladesh were swamped and transmission was confirmed for the first time in Afghanistan.
Singapore's worst dengue outbreak in history came the following year, when it recorded 35,315 cases and 28 deaths.
This year, Singapore -- where dengue has been endemic for decades -- has so far seen just one dengue death but with the rising number of cases authorities are taking no chances.
But with peak season only just beginning, medical experts and doctors like Clarence Yeo Sze Kin say there's a chance this year could set a record for the number of cases.
The recent warm, wet weather, as well as a new dominant virus strain, are contributing to Singapore's dengue outbreak, according to Ruklanthi de Alwis, a senior research fellow at the Duke-NUS Medical School and a specialist in emerging infectious diseases.
"Past predictive modeling studies have shown that global warming due to climate change will eventually expand the geographical areas (in which mosquitoes thrive) as well as the length of dengue transmission seasons," de Alwis told CNN.
According to the Singapore Meteorological Service, the Southeast Asian country is warming twice as rapidly as the rest of the world. If carbon emissions continue to climb, maximum daily temperatures might reach 37 degrees Celsius by 2100, according to the country's meteorological specialists.
Temperatures recently hit a record high of 36.7 degrees Celsius in May amid sweltering levels of humidity.
Singapore's annual dengue problem is only expected to get worse, according to experts, given the pattern of prolonged hot weather and higher rainfall from sudden torrential monsoons, CNN reported.
"We will not be able to eradicate dengue (because) the constant weather extremes create the perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes," said climate scientist Winston Chow from the College of Integrative Studies at Singapore Management University.
Mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika, chikungunya, and dengue will likely continue to spread as climate change worsens and the earth heats up, posing a bigger threat to human health and well-being.
Experts believe the key question now is whether politicians and policymakers, who will be responsible for making the adjustments needed to mitigate climate change and prepare for its repercussions, will recognize the impact of mosquito-borne diseases on human health and take action.