Patterns in future health impacts from heatwaves
Nature Geoscience
May 17, 2010
People living in southern European river basins and along the Mediterranean coasts will probably be hit hardest by future European heatwaves, suggests a study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. The frequency of health-endangering heatwaves is projected to increase fastest and strongest in these locations, which include many densely populated urban centres.
Erich Fischer and Christoph Schaer analysed a set of regional climate projections for Europe to assess the likely occurrence of heatwaves with a high impact on human health, based on known factors such as heatwave duration, minimum night-time temperatures and humidity. The analysis reveals remarkably consistent geographical patterns of predicted heatwave impacts up to the year 2100, suggesting crucial influence from local topography and proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
doi: 10.1038/ngeo866
Research highlights
-
Jan 15
Environment: Seagrass meadows may facilitate marine plastic removal from the seaScientific Reports
-
Jan 15
Planetary Science: Mercury may have shrunk less than previously thoughtCommunications Earth＆Environment
-
Jan 13
Environment: Polyester fibres found to be widespread in the ArcticNature Communications
-
Dec 23
Planetary science: Over 100,000 new craters identified on the MoonNature Communications
-
Dec 22
Conservation: Agricultural expansion could cause widespread biodiversity declines by 2050Nature Sustainability
-
Dec 18
Geology: Alpine summits may have been ice-free during life of Tyrolean IcemanScientific Reports
