Climate change leads to an increase in extreme temperatures. Since morbidity and mortality are considerably elevated during thermal extremes, the Dutch government has serious concerns about health in thermal extremes and in particular in the heat. Therefore, heat measures are summarized and advised in order to reduce the impact of heat in vulnerable people.
However, these measures are not rated for their sustainability and costs. For instance, air-conditioners are effective in reducing temperature, but they are expensive and not environmentally friendly. In contrast, fans are low cost and use approximately 30-times less electricity to operate compared to standard air-conditioning units, but can only provide cooling in the heat when people sweat. The goal of this project is to extend the evaluation of measures to reduce heat strain in humans with an analysis of their environmental sustainability and financial costs.
Researchers:
- Prof. dr. Hein Daanen – Full professor in (environmental) exercise physiology
- Prof. dr. Wouter Botzen - Full Professor in Economics of Climate Change and Natural Disasters
- Dr. Coen Bongers, Radboudumc – Postdoc researcher in (environmental) exercise physiology
- Max Tesselaar, MSc. - PhD Candidate in the Environmental Economics
- Iris Dijkstra, MSc. – Junior researcher in (environmental) exercise physiology