Abstract
Extreme temperatures impose thermal stress on human health, resulting in increased hospitalizations and mortality rate. We investigated the circulatory and respiratory causes of death for the years 2007 to 2014 inclusive for the urban and rural areas of Nicosia, Cyprus under urban heatwave and non-heatwave conditions. Heatwaves were defined as four or more consecutive days with mean urban daily temperature over the 90th percentile threshold temperature of the eight investigated years. Lag period of adverse health effects was found to be up to three days following the occurrence of high temperatures. The relative risk (RR) for mortality rate under heatwave and non-heatwave conditions was found taking in consideration the lag period. The results showed the increase of mortality risk particularly for men of ages 65–69 (RR = 2.38) and women of ages 65–74 (around RR = 2.54) in the urban area, showing that women were more vulnerable to heat extremities. High temperatures were also associated with high ozone concentrations, but they did not impose an excess risk factor, as they did not reach extreme values. This analysis highlights the importance of preparing for potential heat related health impacts even in Cyprus, which is an island with frequent heatwaves.
Highlights
Heatwaves (HWs) is a climatological phenomenon associated with high temperatures and increased thermal stress imposed on human health
The relative risk analysis showed that under heatwave conditions people of ages 65–74 were more vulnerable to heat-related mortality
Heatwaves were defined as the events when for four or more consecutive days the mean daily temperature exceeded the 90th percentile of temperature of years 2007 to 2014 inclusive
Summary
Heatwaves (HWs) is a climatological phenomenon associated with high temperatures and increased thermal stress imposed on human health. Urban heat island (UHI) is a microscale phenomenon that is associated with the rapid urbanization and industrialization, with the main characteristic being high urban temperatures that pose thermal stress on people. Several studies have explored the synergistic interactions between these two phenomena and revealed an intensification of the UHI phenomenon under heatwave conditions [7,8,9]. Mortality rate increases exponentially and the synergy with UHI constitutes it more harmful for urban residents. The reasoning is that the cool relief during the night is minimized due to the prolonged high urban temperatures caused by UHI phenomenon
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