Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Climate change will affect the ratio of male-to-female newborns
Usually, more boys are born than girls, about 103 to 106 boys for every 100 girls. Since boys are more vulnerable to diseases and environment than girls, more boys need to be produced to maintain the sex ratio to be 50:50 by reproductive age. However, this ratio seems to fluctuate when extreme or stressful environmental changes occur, such as a big earthquake or cold weather, according to some studies. For example, fewer boys were born after devastating earthquakes in Japan. The same change was observed when the weather was cold in northern European countries. These suggest that boys are more vulnerable not only after birth but also during the gestation period and/or at the time of conception.
So, does global warming affect human reproduction? Not so likely because the environment doesn’t change in all places at once. Also, humans, just like other creatures on the planet, are quick to adapt to the changes in more extreme environmental conditions, like the Great Ice Age.
In any case, humans are adaptable yet vulnerable to changes. But actually, selective birth control has a greater impact on a male-female ratio like China and India. And they are the world’s two most populous countries, representing over one-third of the world population.
Enjoy reading and think what affects more to human reproduction.
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