Impacts of the 2015 Heat Waves on Mortality in the Czech Republic-A Comparison with Previous Heat Waves.

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to assess the impacts of heat waves during the summer of 2015 on mortality in the Czech Republic and to compare them with those of heat waves back to the previous record-breaking summer of 1994. We analyzed daily natural-cause mortality across the country's entire population. A mortality baseline was determined using generalized additive models adjusted for long-term trends, seasonal and weekly cycles, and identified heat waves. Mortality deviations from the baseline were calculated to quantify excess mortality during heat waves, defined as periods of at least three consecutive days with mean daily temperature higher than the 95th percentile of annual distribution. The summer of 2015 was record-breaking in the total duration of heat waves as well as their total heat load.

SUBMITTER: Urban A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5750980 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature