Environmental factors influencing mosquito breeding and malaria transmission using geospatial technologies in the Wabi Shebele sub-basin, Ethiopia

Malaria is a life-threatening disease influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, vegetation, water availability, altitude, and rainfall, which shape mosquito breeding and transmission. This study aimed to assess environmental factors influencing mosquito breeding and malaria transmission using geospatial techniques in the Wabi Shebele sub-basin of Ethiopia. Seven key environmental factors: Land use land cover (LULC) types, land surface temperature (LST), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), normalized difference moisture index (NDMI), elevation, and rainfall were employed to identify factors that influence malaria transmission. The results show that areas with high Land surface tempature (LST), particularly bare land (33.66 °C), grassland (31.76 °C), and agricultural land (31.42 °C) provide favorable conditions for malaria vector breeding. Agricultural land, comprising 24.78%, enhances malaria risk by offering ideal breeding sites. Conversely, forested areas with lower LST (26.98 °C) and areas with high NDVI and low NDWI (highland zones) were associated with low malaria risk due to cooler microclimates and limited water availability. The soil moisture index clearly shows that lower elevations are associated with higher soil moisture due to proximity to water bodies, which facilitates malaria vector breeding. Agricultural land, high LST, low elevation, high soil moisture, and moderate to high rainfall are the primary environmental factors facilitating malaria distribution. A malaria control approach in the study area should focus on managing environmental factors, particularly in high-risk areas like agricultural lands and low-elevation zones, while promoting sustainable land use practices to reduce mosquito breeding sites. This finding underscore the utility of geospatial analysis in guiding malaria control, particularly in identifying potential mosquito breeding sites and environmental risk zones for spatially targeted interventions.