Cities are well known to be hotter than the rural areas that surround them; this phenomenon is called the urban heat island.Heat waves are excessively hot periods duringwhich the air temperatures of both urban and rural areas increase significantly. However, whether urban and rural temperatures respond in the sameway to heat waves remains a critical unanswered question. In this study, a combina...

BACKGROUND Heat waves are extreme weather events that have been associated with adverse health outcomes. However, there is limited knowledge of heat waves' impact on population morbidity, such as emergency department (ED) visits. OBJECTIVES We investigated associations between heat waves and ED visits for 17 outcomes in Atlanta over a 20-year period, 1993-2012. METHODS Associations were est...

Extreme cold and heat waves, characterized by a number of cold or hot days in succession, place a strain on people's cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The increase in deaths due to these waves may be greater than that predicted by extreme temperatures alone. We examined cold and heat waves in 99 US cities for 14 years (1987-2000) and investigated how the risk of death depended on the temp...

BACKGROUND Devastating health effects from recent heat waves in China have highlighted the importance of understanding health consequences from extreme heat stress. Despite the increasing mortality from extreme heat, very limited studies have quantified the effects of summer extreme temperature on heat-related illnesses in China. METHODS The associations between extreme heat and daily heat-re...

BACKGROUND Understanding the health impacts of heat waves is important, especially given anticipated increases in the frequency, duration, and intensity of heat waves due to climate change. OBJECTIVES We examined mortality from heat waves in seven major Korean cities for 2000 through 2007 and investigated effect modification by individual characteristics and heat wave characteristics (intensi...

BACKGROUND In many parts of the world, including in China, extreme heat events or heat waves are likely to increase in intensity, frequency, and duration in light of climate change in the next decades. Risk perception and adaptation behaviors are two important components in reducing the health impacts of heat waves, but little is known about their relationships in China. This study aimed to exa...

In the past few decades, several devastating heat wave events have significantly challenged public health. As these events are projected to increase in both severity and frequency in the future, it is important to assess the relationship between heat waves and the health indicators that can be used in the early warning systems to guide the public health response. Yet there is a knowledge gap in...

Alpine plants are considered to be particularly vulnerable to climate change and related extreme episodes, such as heat waves. Despite growing interest in the impact of heat waves on alpine plants, knowledge about their effects on regeneration is still fragmentary. Recruitment from seeds will be crucial for the successful migration and survival of these species and will play a key role in their...

The effects of simulated heat waves on body weight, body temperature, and biomarkers of cardiac function in ApoE-/- mice were investigated. Heat waves were simulated in a meteorological environment simulation chamber according to data from a heat wave that occurred in July 2001 in Nanjing, China. Eighteen ApoE-/- mice were divided into control group, heat wave group, and heat wave BH4 group. Mi...