Rats have slowly been infiltrating big cities all across the globe within the past few years – and, now, within recent months, people have finally started to take notice. Personally, I’ve always said that we need to be more wary of rodents, but no one listens to me when I point at them with a rat finger-puppet attached to my hand.

Regardless, there has been an undeniable influx in rat populations among big cities. After observing data – as well as complaints – in 16 different cities, researchers have associated this rise in population with global warming. They note that “increasing warmth also extend[s] the window for foraging for rats,” and longer periods of warm temperature lead female rats to maturing faster. Faster maturing leads to more breeding; more breeding means more vermin plaguing the sewers.

Unfortunately, this is not a new issue – back in 2023, New York City hired its very own “Rat Czar,” Kathleen Corradi. This position is the first of its kind; previously, the city’s rodent problems were pushed off onto other administrators.

But, what’s so bad about rats? Sure, most people don’t want rats in their homes, but they seem fairly harmless otherwise… right?

Disease. Rats are notorious for spreading disease. The Black Death, which devastated the entire globe in the 1300s, spread due to rats carrying disease-ridden fleas. While we don’t have to worry about this sickness in our modern age, we have other illnesses to battle, most of which aren’t lethal. However, there are still potentially life-threatening diseases, such as Tularemia and Hantavirus (a family of viruses) that rats still spread. 

Simply put, more rats equals more disease in these big, crowded cities; and, as we now know after living through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, people won’t let sickness stop them from living their lives… which, of course, means disease will spread even more rapidly.

So, what does this mean for us? Well, addressing issues from smallest to largest, focus on being a hygienic person – don’t mess with wild animals. They’re wild for a reason… but, if for whatever reason, you’ve come in contact with a wild animal, and now you’re sick, do everything in your power to avoid spreading your germs to other people, even if it means not going out for a few days.

The bigger picture, unfortunately, is much more difficult to navigate – how can you actually feel like you have an impact on global warming as an individual? For every bottle you recycle, another five turtles are mistaking plastic bags for jellyfish; for every plant you harvest from your humble garden, another forest is wiped out; for every whisper of effort, you’re drowned out by the overwhelming screams of the rest of the world.

For now, we’ll just have to pretend rats are our biggest problem.