Assessing mortality associated with heatwaves in the cool climate region of Tasmania, Australia

Background: Anthropogenic climate change is causing a rise in global temperatures, with this trend projected to increase into the future. Heatwaves are associated with a rise in preventable deaths, however this association is less well understood in regions experiencing cooler climates. Methods: We...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sharon L. Campbell, Nicolas Borchers-Arriagada, Grant J. Williamson, Fay H. Johnston
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-05-01
Series:The Journal of Climate Change and Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667278224000051
Description
Summary:Background: Anthropogenic climate change is causing a rise in global temperatures, with this trend projected to increase into the future. Heatwaves are associated with a rise in preventable deaths, however this association is less well understood in regions experiencing cooler climates. Methods: We used a space-time-stratified conditional Poisson (-quasi) regression analysis to assess if heatwaves were associated with all-cause mortality in Tasmania, Australia, for the period 2010–2018. Results: We found that across Tasmania, low-intensity heatwaves were relatively common, with less occurrence of severe and extreme heatwaves. We found that for all heatwave types combined, there was a rise in mortality of 8 % (RR=1.08, 95 %CI 1.01–1.16). For low-intensity heatwaves, we found mortality increased by 9 % (RR=1.09, 95 %CI 1.02–1.17). Conclusion: These results have health promotion and health protection policy and practice implications for Tasmanian healthcare services, and potentially other cooler climate regions around the world.
ISSN:2667-2782