Assessment of the Baltic Sea Climate Change Impact on Health (original) (raw)
Related papers
Theoretical and Applied Climatology
The paper focuses on bioclimatic conditions in the southern part of the Baltic coast based on universal thermal climate index values. Taking into consideration the observational data from coastline stations as well as reanalysis data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research (sea level pressure and the 500 hPa geopotential height), the authors attempt to explain which of the synoptic situations are responsible for the occurrence of days with very strong and extreme cold or heat stress. The obtained results confirm that the extreme thermal heat and cold stress conditions are for the most part associated with high-pressure systems. The researched area is usually situated in the western or southern periphery of the anticyclones. The cold stress also occurs during the advection from west or northwest, caused by the direct influence of a lowpressure system whose center is situated over the North Sea, southern Scandinavia, or the southern Baltic Sea.
Mortality Related to Cold Temperatures in Two Capitals of the Baltics: Tallinn and Riga
Medicina
Background and objectives: Despite global warming, the climate in Northern Europe is generally cold, and the large number of deaths due to non-optimal temperatures is likely due to cold temperatures. The aim of the current study is to investigate the association between cold temperatures and all-cause mortality, as well as cause-specific mortality, in Tallinn and Riga in North-Eastern Europe. Materials and Methods: We used daily information on deaths from state death registries and minimum temperatures from November to March over the period 1997–2015 in Tallinn and 2009–2015 in Riga. The relationship between the daily minimum temperature and mortality was investigated using the Poisson regression, combined with a distributed lag non-linear model considering lag times of up to 21 days. Results: We found significantly higher all-cause mortality owing to cold temperatures both in Tallinn (Relative Risk (RR) = 1.28, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.01–1.62) and in Riga (RR = 1.41, 95% CI ...
Environmental research, 2018
Direct health effects of extreme temperatures are a significant environmental health problem in Lithuania, and could worsen further under climate change. This paper attempts to describe the change in environmental temperature conditions that the urban population of Vilnius could experience under climate change, and the effects such change could have on excess heat-related and cold-related mortality in two future periods within the 21st century. We modelled the urban climate of Vilnius for the summer and winter seasons during a sample period (2009-2015) and projected summertime and wintertime daily temperatures for two prospective periods, one in the near (2030-2045) and one in the far future (2085-2100), under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5. We then analysed the historical relationship between temperature and mortality for the period 2009-2015, and estimated the projected mortality in the near future and far future periods under a changing climate and population,...
The Effect of Extreme Temperatures on Human Health as a Result of Climate Change
Nowadays, assessment of impact health related to climate change is becoming the most important research method at regional and local level, as it explains how adaptation is needed to reduce the current vulnerability to climate change that has already occurred and the need for adaptation to address the health risks anticipated over the coming decades. The purpose of this study is to describe the health impacts of climate change on human health as well as the study of extreme air temperatures and their distribution in the territory. The data of the last years 2017-2018 have been used, based on the Monthly Climate Bulletin published by the Institute of Geosciences, Energy, Water and Environment, Department of Climate and Environment. Extreme values of air temperature are of great interest both theoretically and practically. Their distribution is greater than then averages, therefore for their study a large number of stations are needed. Air temperature is one of the main climatic eleme...
Global health action, 2014
Ambient temperatures can cause an increase in mortality. A better understanding is needed of how health status and other factors modify the risk associated with high and low temperatures, to improve the basis of preventive measures. Differences in susceptibility to temperature and to heat and cold wave duration are relatively unexplored. We studied the associations between mortality and temperature and heat and cold wave duration, stratified by age and individual and medical factors. Deaths among all residents of Stockholm County between 1990 and 2002 were linked to discharge diagnosis data from hospital admissions, and associations were examined using the time stratified case-crossover design. Analyses were stratified by gender, age, pre-existing disease, country of origin, and municipality level wealth, and adjusted for potential confounding factors. Results : The effect on mortality by heat wave duration was higher for lower ages, in areas with lower wealth, for hospitalized pati...
Assessment of mortality risk in Poland due to cold and heat stress and predictions to 2100
2020
Cold and heat stress are environmental factors influencing the state of health of individuals and the wider population. There is a large number of research to document significant increases in mortality and morbidity during cold and heat waves in every climate zone. In spite of the well-documented nature of heat/cold-related health problems, only in few countries local or national authorities have developed any special adaptation strategies for their healthcare systems (HCS), with a view to addressing predicted increases in the frequency and severity of cold- and heat-stress events. Such strategies draw on epidemiological and climatological research. For example in Poland in the years 2012-2015 research project pursued to study regional differentiation in climate-related diseases in Poland, with regional-level predictions for their occurrence through to 2100. The results of the project were applied in a national strategy for adaptation to climate change This paper presents key resu...
Climate Change and Health: Consequences of High Temperatures among Vulnerable Groups in Finland
International Journal of Health Services, 2022
Global warming has increased the likelihood of heat waves also in high latitude regions not accustomed to high temperatures. This has made the evaluation of potential human health consequences and need for adaptation in the health care sector more urgent. In this study, we examine the effects of high temperatures on morbidity and mortality in Finland. Individual level data for the total population on hospital visits, causes of death, demographic and socioeconomic information as well as daily weather data are used to study outcomes at the municipality-month level over a span of 20 years. Panel data linear regression methods are utilized alongside high-dimensional fixed effects minimizing confounding variation. Analysis is conducted by age groups with special emphasis on the elderly population, as well as for specific elderly risk groups identified in previous literature. We also differentiate both morbidity and mortality effects cause-specifically with a broad set of different discharge diagnosis groups and the most common causes of death. The models show a clear increase in the number of acute all-cause and cause-specific hospital visits as well as all-cause and causespecific mortality that disproportionately affect the elderly population. We also find some evidence that heatwaves might affect certain vulnerable population groups more intensely. The evidence can be used in identifying vulnerable groups as extreme heat waves are expected to become more frequent and intense. The study has been financed by the Academy of Finland and it is part of the project "Climate change and Health: Adapting to Mental, Physical and Societal challenges" (CHAMPS).
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CHANGES IN GLOBAL CLIMATE FOR HUMAN HEALTH
Abstract: the paper gives the review of the knowledge about relations be-tween meteorological and climatic elements and human health. the attention is paid to direct and indirect influences of climate on epidemiology of several disease in global scale. some epidemiological predictions for century will be discussed as well. in spite of progress in medicine and health care systems individuals and population of certain regions are still under great dependence of environmental and atmospheric fac-tors. clinical research bring much information dealing with the influences of particular weather and climate conditions on human health and well being. a lot of studies report increase in morbidity and mortality caused by heat waves that are the result of high air temperature and humidity as well as great insolation. in subarctic and arctic regions low temperature and strong wind are the factors influencing human's health. human health also depends on some environmental agents that are stro...
International journal of environmental research and public health, 2017
Climate change is expected to increase heat-related and decrease cold-related mortality. The extent of acclimatization of the population to gradually-changing thermal conditions is not well understood. We aimed to define the relationship between mortality and temperature extremes in different age groups in the Helsinki-Uusimaa hospital district in Southern Finland, and changes in sensitivity of the population to temperature extremes over the period of 1972-2014. Time series of mortality were made stationary with a method that utilizes 365-day Gaussian smoothing, removes trends and seasonality, and gives relative mortality as the result. We used generalized additive models to examine the association of relative mortality to physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) and to air temperature in the 43-year study period and in two 21-year long sub-periods (1972-1992 and 1994-2014). We calculated the mean values of relative mortality in percentile-based categories of thermal indices. Re...