[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/EW-10-24-13-Urban-Temperatures.mp3|titles=EW 10-24-13 Urban Temperatures]
Recent studies suggest that rising temperatures are likely to be associated with changes in mortality in urban areas. Winter deaths may decline, as the severity of flu and the incidence of slippage on ice both decrease when winters are warmer.
But summer deaths by stroke are likely to increase. High summer temperatures are often associated with higher ozone and aerosol concentrations in urban air, and both of these are associated with cardiovascular mortality. The new study suggests that temperature alone is the best predictor of changes in mortality rate. Changes in climate are projected to cause a 20% increase in heat-related deaths in Manhattan in 2020.
The greatest changes in mortality are projected for the transition seasons—May and September, and occasional days of extreme temperature have a greater effect than prolonged spells of hot, but not extreme weather.
Another recent study suggests that the batteries in smart-phones may be an effective means of monitoring temperature in urban areas—offering a nearly limitless potential sample of temperature in the environments that people actually occupy.
This is a great example of crowd-sourcing useful environmental data. Reports from smart-phones may be the best way to inform public health officials about when to call an emergency for temperature extremes that are particularly dangerous to vulnerable sectors of society.
Cities are getting hotter, and a hot night in the city is not necessarily good for your health.
**********
.
Web Links
For more information, please see:
Li et al. (2013). Projections of seasonal patterns in temperature-related deaths for Manhattan, New York. Nature Climate Change, August 2013,
Overeem, et al. (2013) Crowdsourcing urban air temperatures from smartphone battery temperatures. Geophyiscal Research Letters, August 14, 2013.
Heat-related deaths in Manhattan projected to rise
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/teia-hdi051713.php
Photo, taken on June 28, 2010, courtesy of William Hook via Flickr.
XXXXXXXX