BACKGROUND Heat waves have been linked with an increase in mortality, but the associated risk has been only partly characterized. METHODS We examined this association by decomposing the risk for temperature into a "main effect" due to independent effects of daily high temperatures, and an "added" effect due to sustained duration of heat during waves, using data from 108 communities in the Uni...

BACKGROUND In July 2006, a lasting and severe heat wave occurred in Western Europe. Since the 2003 heat wave, several preventive measures and an alert system aiming at reducing the risks related to high temperatures have been set up in France by the health authorities and institutions. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of those measures, the observed excess mortality during the 2006 heat w...

BACKGROUND We examine the effect of heat waves on mortality, over and above what would be predicted on the basis of temperature alone. METHODS Present modeling approaches may not fully capture extra effects relating to heat wave duration, possibly because the mechanisms of action and the population at risk are different under more extreme conditions. Modeling such extra effects can be achieve...

The mechanism of the effects of simulated heat waves on cardiovascular disease in senile mice was investigated. Heat waves were simulated in a TEM1880 meteorological environment simulation chamber, according to a heat wave that occurred in July 2001 in Nanjing, China. Eighteen senile mice were divided into control, heat wave, and heat wave BH4 groups, respectively. Mice in the heat wave and hea...

of vulnerability. Recent events in Europe suggest that this statement may be especially true of the lethal meteorological events known as heat waves. Estimates indicate that as many as 35,000 Europeans died as a result of the roughly two-week period of unusually high temperatures in August 2003, with evidence suggesting that the victims were largely elderly (Hémon and Jougla 2003). The United S...

The world communicates to our senses of vision, hearing, and touch in the language of waves, because light, sound, and even heat essentially consist of microscopic vibrations of different media. The wave nature of light and sound has been extensively investigated over the past century and is now widely used in modern technology. However, the wave nature of heat has been the subject of mostly th...

Heat waves, defined as an interval of abnormally hot and humid weather, have been a prominent killer in recent years. With heat waves worsening with climate change, adaptation is essential; one strategy has been to issue heat wave warnings and undertake awareness campaigns to bring about behavioral changes to reduce heat stroke. Since 2002, the Indian state of Odisha has been undertaking a gras...

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of the heat wave in 2005 on mortality among the residents in Guangzhou and to identify susceptible subpopulations in Guangzhou, China. METHODS The data of daily number of deaths and meteorological measures from 2003 to 2006 in Guangzhou were used in this study. Heat wave was defined as ⋝7 consecutive days with daily maximum temperature above 35.0 °C and daily me...

BACKGROUND Heat stroke is a serious heat-related illness, especially among older adults. However, little is known regarding the spatiotemporal variation of heat stroke admissions during heat waves and what factors modify the adverse effects. METHODS We conducted a large-scale national study among 23.5 million Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries per year residing in 1,916 US counties during...

Background In July 2006, a lasting and severe heat wave occurred in Western Europe. Since the 2003 heat wave, several preventive measures and an alert system aiming at reducing the risks related to high temperatures have been set up in France by the health authorities and institutions. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of those measures, the observed excess mortality during the 2006 heat w...