Mobility data to aid assessment of human responses to extreme environmental conditions

Hatchett, Benjamin J.; Benmarhnia, Tarik; Guirguis, Kristen; VanderMolen, Kristin; Gershunov, Alexander; Kerwin, Heather; Khlystov, Andrey; Lambrecht, Kathryn; Samburova, Vera

doi:10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00261-8

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The minimum temperature ranged from −1 to 19.5 • C in February 2018, 2019, and 2020 across Texas. The winter storm caused freezing temperatures compared to the previous years (Figure 2); these findings concur with the findings of other studies [21][22][23][24][25]32,33].…”

Section: Daily Average Low Temperaturesupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The minimum temperature ranged from −1 to 1 °C in February 2018, 2019, and 2020 across Texas. The winter storm caused freezing te peratures compared to the previous years (Figure 2); these findings concur with the fin ings of other studies [21][22][23][24][25]32,33]. The PRISM spatial temperature grid showed that the average daily temperature ranged between 0 and −19 °C across Texas on 14 February 2021 (Figure 2).…”

Section: Daily Average Low Temperaturesupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Winter storm Uri, as a result of a polar vortex, led to below-freezing temperatures across the state of Texas. A recordsetting winter storm 'Uri' draped a substantial portion of the continental U.S. from the 14-17 February [22][23][24][25]33]. The associated winter storm produced a freezing temperature from 14-17 February 2021, resulting in a cascading failure in the infrastructures that affected the Texas public and the environment [9].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the Impact of Winter Storm Uri on Power Outage, Air Quality, and Water Systems in Texas, USA

2023

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Texas was hit by a record-setting cold snap from the 14th to 17th of February 2021 after three decades that resulted in power outages, disruption of the public water systems, and other cascading effects. This study investigates the unprecedented impact of winter storm Uri on power outages, air quality, and water systems in Texas, USA. Analysis of the Parameter Regression of Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) gridded climate data showed that the average daily freezing temperature range was 0–−19 °C on 14 February 2021, with severe levels (−17–−19 °C) occurring in the Texas High Plains. Our results showed that the extreme freezing temperature persisted from 14–17 February 2021, significantly affecting power operation and reliability, and creating power outages across Texas. Uri impacted the public water systems and air quality on time scales ranging from a few minutes to several days, resulting in 322 boiling notices. The air quality index level exceeded the standard limit by 51.7%, 61.7%, 50.8%, and 60% in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston–Galveston, Austin, and Lubbock regions. The level of the pollutants exceeded the EPA NAAQS standard allowable limits during winter storm Uri. In general, this study gives information on the government’s future preparedness, policies, communication, and response to storm impacts on vulnerable regions and communities.

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Section: Daily Average Low Temperaturesupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Daily Average Low Temperaturesupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the Impact of Winter Storm Uri on Power Outage, Air Quality, and Water Systems in Texas, USA

2023

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“…More work needs to be conducted to understand these varying results. Extreme weather events such as wildfires have been shown to directly impact population mobility (Hatchett et al 2021)-future research could disentangle the specific short term and delayed role of wildfire smoke in affecting mobility patterns and its association with COVID-19 outcomes, for example; this would be best addressed using individual-level data sources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smoke and COVID-19 case fatality ratios during California wildfires

Schwarz

Dimitrova

Aguilera

et al. 2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Background: Recent evidence has shown an association between wildfire smoke and COVID-19 cases and deaths. The San Francisco Bay Area, in California (USA), experienced two major concurrent public health threats in 2020: the COVID-19 pandemic and dense smoke emitted by wildfires. This provides a unprecedented context to unravel the role of acute air pollution exposure on COVID-19 severity. Methods: A smoke product provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Hazard Mapping System was used to identify counties exposed to heavy smoke in summer and fall of 2020. Daily COVID-19 cases and deaths for the United States were downloaded at the county-level from the CDC COVID Data Tracker. Synthetic control methods were used to estimate the causal effect of the wildfire smoke on daily COVID-19 case fatality ratios, adjusting for population mobility. Results: Evidence of an impact of wildfire smoke on COVID-19 case fatality ratios was observed, with precise estimates in Alameda and San Francisco. Up to 58 (95% CI: 29, 87) additional deaths for every 1,000 COVID-19 incident daily cases attributable to wildfire smoke was estimated in Alameda in early September. Conclusions: Findings indicated that extreme weather events such as wildfires smoke can drive increased vulnerability to infectious diseases, highlighting the need to further study these colliding crises. Understanding the environmental drivers of COVID-19 mortality can be used to protect vulnerable populations from these potentially concomitant public health threats.

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Smartphone locations reveal patterns of cooling center use as a heat mitigation strategy

Derakhshan¹,

Bautista²,

Bouwman³

et al. 2023

Applied Geography

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Mobility data to aid assessment of human responses to extreme environmental conditions

Cited by 10 publications

References 7 publications

Exploring the Impact of Winter Storm Uri on Power Outage, Air Quality, and Water Systems in Texas, USA

Exploring the Impact of Winter Storm Uri on Power Outage, Air Quality, and Water Systems in Texas, USA

Smoke and COVID-19 case fatality ratios during California wildfires

Smartphone locations reveal patterns of cooling center use as a heat mitigation strategy

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