Crypto News: Climate change is fueling an urban rat boom

Climate change has wreacked all sorts of havoc on city residents, but for a different kind of urban dweller, it's been a boon: Milder winters are helping boost rat populations in cities worldwide, according to a new study. Metropolitan areas that saw a larger rise in temperature over time also saw larger increases in rats, as did places with more dense human population. Washington, DC, and San Francisco topped the list of places with the greatest rat growth, while just three cities saw significant declines.

It only takes a handful of warmer weeks a year — during which the pests will forage for food and breed — to boost rat numbers, Kendra Pierre-Louis writes. The findings come as cities are already spending $500 million each year on rat control. They also point to yet another way humans are helping their beady-eyed foes thrive. Today on CityLab: Climate Change Is Helping Fuel an Urban Rat Boom

— Linda Poon

More on CityLab

New York's First 'Passive House' School Is a Model of Downtown Density
A progressive elementary school and Arabic language high school occupy a high-achieving Brooklyn building designed by Architecture Research Office.

When French Communists Went on a Brutalist Building Boom
The new book A Concrete Alliance explores the daring and divisive architecture built by the Communist Party of France in working-class towns of the 1960s and '70s.

Illegal Gold Mining Contaminated This Land. Trees and Plants Are Healing It
Mercury left behind by wildcat miners polluted areas of northern Colombia. Restoring them to health depends on a surprisingly low-tech solution.

What we're reading

Local businesses close in cities across the US for 'A Day Without Immigrants' (CBS News, Washingtonian, San Francisco Chronicle)
The leaning tower of New York (New Yorker)
Thousands rally in downtown Los Angeles, shut down 101 Freeway to protest Trump's immigration policies (Los Angeles Times)
DC sees neighborhood revival in Trump plan to downsize federal footprint (Washington Post)
This Louisiana town is disappearing. The Super Bowl will draw attention to its story. (Nola)
This artist is drawing entire LA neighborhoods that were lost in the fires (Fast Company)