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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Phoebe Weston and Leyland Cecco in Toronto

‘Perfect rat storm’: urban rodent numbers soar as the climate heats, study finds

A rat
Rat numbers increased fastest in cities that were warming fastest, according to the study. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

Rat numbers are soaring in cities as global temperatures warm, research shows.

Washington DC, San Francisco, Toronto, New York City and Amsterdam had the greatest increase in these rodents, according to the study, which looked at data from 16 cities globally. Eleven of the cities showed “significant increasing trends in rat numbers”, said the paper published in the journal Science Advances, and these trends were likely to continue.

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