Hot Topics: Comparis on and Interaction of Heatwave-related Societal Responses and Public Health Impacts
Extreme heat is one of the most significant public health threats posed by climate change. It causes an es timated 489,000 deaths annually worldwide, a third of which in Europe . Despite improved heat risk reduction strategies, important gaps rem ain in how we understand and represent the relationship between heatw aves and societal responses.
With this research, I show that no t only the intensity of heat is important, but also the duration. In Germany, health problems and social unrest were found to be more stro ngly associated with warmer periods that lasted for weeks to months t han with short periods of extreme heat. Prolonged heat therefore seem s to be a greater burden on people and society than a few exceptional ly hot days.
In addition, the amount of moisture in the environ ment plays an important role. Both very dry and very humid conditions can increase the health risks of heat and affect the number of death s.
Online search behavior
The study also looked at online search behavior. During heat periods, people were m ore likely to look for information about heat symptoms and ways to de al with them. Remarkably, this increase in searches coincided with pe riods in which mortality increased. Online search behaviour can there fore be a useful indicator to see how badly a heat wave affects the p opulation.
Finally, it appears that earlier exposure to a heat wave may better prepare people for the next warm period, especially v ulnerable groups. The key message is that effective heat protection s hould not only take into account temperature, but also the duration o f heat, humidity, and how people seek information and react to extrem e weather events.
More information on the thesis. DESCRIPTION: Hot Topics: Comparison and Interaction of Heatwave-relate d Societal Responses and Public Health Impacts Extreme heat is one of the most significant public health threats posed by climate change. It causes an estimated 489,000 deaths annually worldwide, a thi rd of which in Europe. Despite improved heat risk reduction strategie s, important gaps remain in how we understand and represent the relat ionship between heatwaves and societal responses.With this research, I show that not only the intensity of heat is important, but also the duration. In Germany, health problems and social unrest were found t o be more strongly associated with warmer periods that lasted for wee ks to months than with short periods of extreme heat. Prolonged heat therefore seems to be a greater burden on people and society than a f ew exceptionally hot days.In addition, the amount of moisture in the environment plays an important role. Both very dry and very humid con ditions can increase the health risks of heat and affect the number o f deaths.Online search behaviorThe study also looked at online search behavior. During heat periods, people were more lik ely to look for information about heat symptoms and ways to deal with them. Remarkably, this increase in searches coincided with periods i n which mortality increased. Online search behaviour can therefore be a useful indicator to see how badly a heat wave affects the populati on.Finally, it appears that earlier exposure to a heat wave may bette r prepare people for the next warm period, especially vulnerable grou ps. The key message is that effective heat protection should not only take into account temperature, but also the duration of heat, humidi ty, and how people seek information and react to extreme weather even ts.More information on the thesis. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR