Article
Environmental Sciences
Wan Ting Katty Huang, Isobel Braithwaite, Andrew Charlton-Perez, Christophe Sarran, Ting Sun
Summary: The impact of climate change on seasonal temperature-related mortality is nonlinear. After a 2.5 degrees C increase in global warming, there is a significant increase in summer mean mortality risk, while minimal changes are expected at lower levels of warming. In contrast, by reaching a 2 degrees C global warming, there is already a 42% increase in mortality risk during summer heat extremes. Winter attributable mortalities are projected to decrease linearly with global warming in England and Wales.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Veronika Huber, Cristina Pena Ortiz, David Gallego Puyol, Stefan Lange, Francesco Sera
Summary: This study evaluates the adaptation capability of future temperature-related excess mortality by using evidence of shifting minimum mortality temperatures (MMTs) based on recent climate warming. The results show a close relationship between MMTs and mean summer temperatures (MSTs) in both time and space. Future projections, accounting for adaptation, indicate a significant reduction in heat-related excess mortality and an increase in cold-related excess mortality.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Tomas Janos, Joan Ballester, Pavel Cupr, Hicham Achebak
Summary: Our study reveals significant differences in the temperature-mortality associations across different subgroups defined by sex, age, and cause of death in the Czech Republic. The impact of non-optimal temperatures on mortality risk increases with age. The relative risk associated with cold temperatures has decreased in most subgroups, while the risk associated with heat has increased. These inequalities in temperature-mortality associations have led to growing disparities between sexes and among age categories.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sarah Chapman, Cathryn E. Birch, John H. Marsham, Cherie Part, Shakoor Hajat, Matthew F. Chersich, Kristie L. Ebi, Stanley Luchters, Britt Nakstad, Sari Kovats
Summary: Children in sub-Saharan Africa are highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change, especially from hot weather. A study estimates that without intervention, heat-related child mortality is projected to double by 2049 compared to the period of 2005-2014. However, if the 2050 temperature increase is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, approximately 4000-6000 child deaths per year can be avoided in Africa.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera, Evan de Schrijver, Dominik L. Schumacher, Martina S. Ragettli, Erich M. Fischer, Sonia Seneviratne
Summary: Human-induced climate change is resulting in more frequent and intense extreme weather events, which are having a severe impact on population health. The summer of 2022 in Europe experienced exceptionally high temperatures, second only to the infamous summer of 2003. High ambient temperatures are associated with various health outcomes, including premature mortality. However, there is limited quantitative evidence on the contribution of human-induced climate change to the observed heat-related mortality. This study combines climate epidemiology and attribution methods to quantify the heat-related mortality burden attributed to human-induced climate change in Switzerland during the summer of 2022. The findings show that human-induced climate change was a significant driver of the excess health burden observed during that summer.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gerardo Sanchez Martinez, Vladimir Kendrovski, Miguel Antonio Salazar, Francesca de'Donato, Melanie Boeckmann
Summary: This paper assesses the implementation of heat health action plans (HHAPs) in the WHO European Region and discusses the barriers and successes. The study found a progressive improvement in the development and rollout of HHAPs overall, but integrating HHAPs into long-term climate change and health planning remains a challenge.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
Kristie L. Ebi
Summary: Anthropogenic climate change is impacting global population health and wellbeing, requiring increased investments in adaptation and mitigation. However, medical research councils worldwide have provided minimal funding for environmental health research, hindering the ability to effectively protect vulnerable populations and regions in the face of a changing climate.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mathilde Pascal, Sarah Goria, Verene Wagner, Marine Sabastia, Agnes Guillet, Erwan Cordeau, Cecile Mauclair, Sabine Host
Summary: The study found that in the Paris region, a lack of vegetation and high imperviousness were associated with a higher risk of heat-related mortality. Therefore, interventions targeting these characteristics could potentially reduce the health impacts of extreme heat.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Jiangdong Liu, Hang Dong, Mengmeng Li, Ying Wu, Chunlin Zhang, Jinjian Chen, Zhou Yang, Guozhen Lin, De Li Liu, Jun Yang
Summary: This study comprehensively assessed the impact of heatwaves and their characteristics on public health in China under various climate change scenarios. The results showed that heatwave-related excess mortality will continue to increase in the future, with intensity being the main factor of concern. The duration of heatwaves was found to have the largest mortality burden among all characteristics.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYGIENE AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
(2023)
Review
Biology
Jeffrey A. A. Harvey, Yuting Dong
Summary: Anthropogenic climate change poses a significant threat to biodiversity, with extreme temperature events increasing in frequency, duration, and intensity. While the effects of climate extremes on insects have been well-studied, spiders and other arthropods have received less attention. This paper discusses spider responses to extreme temperatures and identifies important knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to understand their vulnerability to climate change.
Article
Biophysics
Mathilde Pascal, Verene Wagner, Magali Corso
Summary: This paper examines the temperature-related mortality in 18 French urban centers from 1970 to 2015. It finds that the overall temperature-mortality relationship remained stable, but the risks increased at low temperatures and decreased at high temperatures. During this period, a total of 302,456 deaths were attributable to non-optimal temperatures, accounting for 5.5% of total mortality. However, the contribution of hot temperatures to this burden increased.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Guillaume Rohat, Olga Wilhelmi, Johannes Flacke, Andrew Monaghan, Jing Gao, Martin van Maarseveen, Hy Dao
Summary: As urban areas are increasingly impacted by extreme heat due to climate change, it is important to assess future urban heat-related health risks and design adaptation strategies. In the case of Houston, community-based adaptation strategies aiming to reduce social isolation have been shown to be the most effective and feasible across various plausible futures.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Diane Z. Chase, Jose Lobo, Gary M. Feinman, David M. Carballo, Arlen F. Chase, Adrian S. Z. Chase, Scott R. Hutson, Alanna Ossa, Marcello Canuto, Travis W. Stanton, L. J. Gorenflo, Christopher A. Pool, Barbara Arroyo, Rodrigo Liendo Stuardo, Deborah L. Nichols
Summary: Urban adaptation to climate change is a global challenge. Efforts to leverage insights from the urban past have been hindered by disciplinary silos and misconceptions about prehistoric urban settlements, especially in prehispanic Mesoamerica. However, advances in archaeology have significantly enhanced our understanding of prehispanic urbanism in Mesoamerica, highlighting its resilience and adaptation to environmental change. This calls for a dialogue among urban archaeologists, sustainability scientists, and researchers interested in urban adaptation to climate change, aiming to shift the focus from failure and collapse to resilience and factors that fostered adaptation and sustainability.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dianyu Zhu, Qi Zhou, Miaomiao Liu, Jun Bi
Summary: This study comprehensively assessed the impact of climate change and urban heat islands on non-optimum temperature-related mortality burdens in China, revealing that the surge in heat-related deaths caused by climate change will be offset by the reduction in cold-related deaths, requiring adjustment of health protection resource strategies. While urban heat islands had a beneficial effect in historical periods, they will lead to heavier health burdens in the future.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Eric T. C. Lai, Pui Hing Chau, Ken Cheung, Michelle Kwan, Kevin Lau, Jean Woo
Summary: Extreme hot weather events are becoming more frequent, intense, and long-lasting in Hong Kong. Older adults are particularly vulnerable to the heat stress which is associated with higher risk of mortality and morbidity. It is not known whether and how older adults perceive the increasingly hot weather as a health threat, and whether community service providers are prepared for future climate changes.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
