BACKGROUND Devastating health effects from recent heat waves, and projected increases in frequency, duration, and severity of heat waves from climate change, highlight the importance of understanding health consequences of heat waves. OBJECTIVES We analyzed mortality risk for heat waves in 43 U.S. cities (1987-2005) and investigated how effects relate to heat waves' intensity, duration, or ti...

Heat-related illnesses, such as heat stroke, are relatively uncommon in temperate climates. Much of the clinical experience comes from Saudi Arabia (where there is an annual pilgrimage to Mecca) and the military. Case reports and review articles are not commonly seen in anaesthesiarelated journals. The intention of this article is to review the available literature on heat stroke and to discuss...

The interaction between urban heat islands (UHIs) and heat waves (HWs) is studied using measurements collected at two towers in the Beijing, China, metropolitan area and an analytical model. Measurements show that 1) the positive interaction betweenUHIs andHWs not only exists at the surface but also persists to higher levels (up to ;70m) and 2) the urban wind speed is enhanced by HWs during day...

Heat stroke, an acute, life-threatening emergency, results from an overload or impairment of heat-dissipating mechanisms. At risk are the elderly, infants, the obese, people with hyperthyroidism, and those taking certain drugs. Early recognition and rapid cooling are essential--the more rapid the cooling, the lower the mortality.

BACKGROUND Using current climate models, regional-scale changes for Florida over the next 100 years are predicted to include warming over terrestrial areas and very likely increases in the number of high temperature extremes. No uniform definition of a heat wave exists. Most past research on heat waves has focused on evaluating the aftermath of known heat waves, with minimal consideration of mi...

Heat waves are associated with increased mortality, however, few studies have examined the added effect of heat waves. Moreover, there is limited evidence for the influence of different heat wave definitions (HWs) on cardiovascular mortality in Beijing, the capital of China. The aim of this study was to find the best HW definitions for cardiovascular mortality, and we examined the effect modifi...

Maintaining human thermal comfort (HTC) is essential for pedestrians because people outside can be more susceptible to heat stress and heat stroke. Modification of street microclimates using tree canopy cover can provide important benefits to pedestrians, but how beneficial and under what circumstances is not clear. On sunny summer days, microclimatic measures were made in residential streets w...

Heat waves, sporadic events of extreme heat, pose a threat to human life. Deaths in excess of 70 000 people during the 2003 European heat wave, 10 000 people during the 2010 Russian heat wave, and high death tolls from numerous other heat waves are staggering demonstrations that extreme climatic conditions are already exceeding human thermoregulatory capacity. The area of the planet experiencin...

We examined the risk factors for heatstroke among forestry workers in Japan during the summer. We distributed a questionnaire to 124 forestry workers to determine heatstroke symptoms, degree of sweating and hydration, as well as perceived hotness and amount of sunlight at work sites. Forty of the workers (32.3%) reported experiencing heatstroke symptoms. Thirteen and 21 of them reported such sy...

For ground-source heat pump (GSHP) installations, it is important to predict the thermal performance and economic feasibility prior to the introduction of the system. Numerical modelling can be used as an analytical method to accurately predict the thermal performance of such system. It is desirable that the modelling to incorporate seasonal variation during long period of operation, which woul...