TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2018//
TI  - Regional morbidity and mortality during heatwaves in South Australia
JO  - International journal of biometeorology
A1  - Williams, Susan
A1  - Venugopal, Kamalesh
A1  - Nitschke, Monika
A1  - Nairn, John
A1  - Fawcett, Robert
A1  - Beattie, Chris
A1  - Wynwood, Graeme
A1  - Bi, Peng
SP  - 1911
EP  - 1926
VL  - 62
IS  - 10
N2  - Heatwaves can be a common occurrence in Australia, and the public health impacts can be severe. Heat warnings and interventions are being adopted widely to reduce the preventable health impacts. This study examines the effects of heatwaves on morbidity and mortality in different climatic regions in the state of South Australia, to inform the targeting of heat warnings according to regional needs. Heatwaves were defined using the excess heat factor (EHF), an index based on mean daily temperature indices that quantifies heatwave severity relative to the local climate. In all regions, there were increases in morbidity (daily rates of ambulance call-outs and heat-related emergency presentations and hospital admissions) on heatwave days compared to non-heatwave days, which increased with heatwave severity. This study demonstrates that a consistent measure for heatwave severity, based on EHF, can be used to underpin public health warnings for climatically diverse areas.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0020-7128
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00484-018-1593-4
ID  - ref1
ER  -