Today we review some research that used of the national (US) Health Vulnerability Index to assess how the urban population reacts to heat stress, given that the number of hot spells each year is likely to double or triple over the next few decades, as a result of carbon fuel emissions and the forced climate change that they cause. The results indicate that the HVI is useful irrespective of heat stress to identify vulnerable parts of the population as well as to gauge in advance which parts are likely to increased heat stress in future.
Key Quotes:
“Heat waves are projected to increase in frequency, severity, and duration in many parts of the world due to climate change”
“Maps that identify which populations and areas within a city are most vulnerable to heat can help local governments allocate resources to the areas in greatest need”
“We found stronger associations between HVI and cardiovascular mortality on non-extreme days than on extreme days”
“Over time, patterns of heat vulnerability are likely to change, for example, due to shifts in aging population distributions or changing patterns of underlying disease, necessitating periodic re-evaluation of vulnerability maps”
“HVI can be used to identify areas with increased risks of adverse health outcomes in general, and that it may identify areas at increased risk of heat-related illness and possibly other heat-related outcomes on abnormally hot days”
“Targeting resources towards decreasing inequities in vulnerability now may increase communities’ resilience to multiple hazards to health in the future”
Related articles
- Heat Waves and Mortality in Korean Cities (pollutionfreecities.blogspot.com)
- Global warming: Doctors foresee major health impacts (summitcountyvoice.com)
- Air pollution from trucks and low-quality heating oil may explain childhood asthma hot spots (eurekalert.org)
- Poor, minority residents face most health risks with climate change (yubanet.com)
- Climate change is bad for your health (sfgate.com)
- Climate Shift: Green Groups Rebrand Global Warming Around Public Health (bigthink.com)
- Could Public Health Benefits Make Combating Climate Change Free? Climate change threatens human health, therefore reducing greenhouse gas emissions may help our medical well-being, too (libraryindus.wordpress.com)
- Forests, Health and Climate Change (ecology.com)
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