Spatial Variability of Heat-Related Mortality in Barcelona from 1992–2015: A Case Crossover Study Design

Abstract

Numerous studies have demonstrated the relationship between summer temperatures and increased heat-related deaths. Epidemiological analyses of the health effects of climate exposures usually rely on observations from the nearest weather station to assess exposure-response associations for geographically diverse populations. Urban climate models provide high-resolution spatial data that may potentially improve exposure estimates, but to date, they have not been extensively applied in epidemiological research. We investigated temperature-mortality relationships in the city of Barcelona, and whether estimates vary among districts. We considered georeferenced individual (natural) mortality data during the summer months (June–September) for the period 1992–2015. We extracted daily summer mean temperatures from a 100-m resolution simulation of the urban climate model (UrbClim). Summer hot days (above percentile 70) and reference (below percentile 30) temperatures were compared by using a conditional logistic regression model in a case crossover study design applied to all districts of Barcelona. Relative Risks (RR), and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI), of all-cause (natural) mortality and summer temperature were calculated for several population subgroups (age, sex and education level by districts). Hot days were associated with an increased risk of death (RR = 1.13; 95% CI = 1.10–1.16) and were significant in all population subgroups compared to the non-hot days. The risk ratio was higher among women (RR = 1.16; 95% CI= 1.12–1.21) and the elderly (RR = 1.18; 95% CI = 1.13–1.22). Individuals with primary education had similar risk (RR = 1.13; 95% CI = 1.08–1.18) than those without education (RR = 1.10; 95% CI= 1.05–1.15). Moreover, 6 out of 10 districts showed statistically significant associations, varying the risk ratio between 1.12 (95% CI = 1.03–1.21) in Sants-Montjuïc and 1.25 (95% CI = 1.14–1.38) in Sant Andreu. Findings identified vulnerable districts and suggested new insights to public health policy makers on how to develop district-specific strategies to reduce risks.

La implicación social en la acción y gobernanza climática urbana: lecciones desde Barcelona y Sevilla

“…Por otro lado, la literatura sobre movimientos sociales y sobre política de la protesta ha analizado las motivaciones para implicarse en la movilización, la acción colectiva y la protesta, teniendo en cuenta la dimensión cognitiva (conocimiento), afectiva (emociones) y comportamental (acciones) de las personas implicadas (Whitmarsh et al, 2013). Para el caso concreto de las protestas climáticas, De Moor et al (2020) han analizado las razones para participar en estas movilizaciones a partir de las siguientes categorías predefinidas: defender los intereses propios; expresar su punto de vista; presionar a los políticos para que cambien las cosas; sensibilizar a la población; expresar su solidaridad; sentirse moralmente obligado a participar; o como resultado de las relaciones interpersonales. Las motivaciones de los manifestantes para participar en las movilizaciones recientes como las huelgas o las marchas por el clima también han sido clasificadas en la literatura científica según los problemas o preocupaciones expresadas por las personas participantes (Fischer et al, 2018;Martiskainen et al, 2020).…”

“…Respecto a los espacios de acción colectiva, hemos reportado todas las categorías de activismo con efectos indirectos hacia el cambio climático identificadas por Fischer & Nasrin (2020), excepto las acciones de litigación para asegurar el cumplimiento de los compromisos climáticos, probablemente debido a que en el caso de las ciudades dichos compromisos son muy recientes y aún tienen margen de tiempo para ser (in)cumplidos.…”

“…Por su parte,Pattie et al (2002) categorizan tres tipos de implicación con la esfera pública: acciones individuales, contacto y/o colaboración con las autoridades, y acción colectiva. Finalmente, tratando el caso específico del activismo climático, y por lo tanto profundizando en la acción colectiva que más interesa a este trabajo, Fischer & Nasrin(2020) diferencian entre activismo con efectos directos hacia el cambio climático (e.g. movimientos que fomentan comportamientos proambientales como la reducción del uso del coche y el avión, la minimización del consumo de plásticos o la alimentación ecológica entre sus miembros) y activismo con efectos climáticos indirectos.…”

Regulation of water bodies to urban thermal environment: Evidence from Wuhan, China

“…Due to the higher solar radiation absorption and increased anthropogenic heat induced by intense human activities (Deilamia et al, 2018;Doan et al, 2019), higher temperatures are usually detected in urban areas than in rural surroundings (Ward et al, 2016;Yao et al, 2017;Giridharana and Emmanuel, 2018). The urban heat island (UHI) effect and extreme high temperature events (EHTE) can significantly affect local climate situation, raise energy consumption, increase air pollutants, lead to thermal discomfort and even increase heat-related mortality (Ward et al, 2016;Morris et al, 2017;Li et al, 2018;Abbassi et al, 2019;Ingole et al, 2020). Thus, it is urgent for urban planners and climatologists to take appropriate measures to mitigate UHI effect (Chang et al, 2007;Ward et al, 2016;Morris et al, 2017;Deilamia et al, 2018).…”

The Influence of Green Space Patterns on Land Surface Temperature in Different Seasons: A Case Study of Fuzhou City, China

“…Not only does the UHI effect affect the local and regional climate [2], it also affects water resources, air quality [3,4], the growth of plants [5], biodiversity, and the ecosystem in general [6]. It also has an adverse impact on the health of urban residents [7,8]. Developing effective adaptation measures and mitigation strategies for UHI effect is thus a common challenge that urban planners and climatologists are currently facing.…”