Exhaustion

The study assessed the impacts of IPCC Assessment Reports (ARs) on academic research on risk mitigation and adaptation concerns in urban areas. The study systematically reviewed literature through searches of the Web of Science and Scopus databases; 852 papers were retrieved and 370 were deemed eligible. The results showed that the East Asia and Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia regions were most interested in IPCC ARs, while Sub-Saharan Africa showed little interest. Though the IPCC ARs show impact, their emphasis on combined mitigation and adaptation policies is limited. This study advocates more combined risk mitigation and adaptation policies in urban areas for increased resilience to climate risk.

This study provides a comprehensive assessment of excess mortality related to non-optimal outdoor temperature, with several risk indicators reported by age and multiple geographical levels. The analysis provides detailed risk maps that are useful for designing effective public health and climate policies at both local and national levels.

High air temperatures and heat extremes are associated with a large burden of cardiovascular disease, especially among the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions. Under the influence of global warming as well as population growth and ageing, the heat-related impact on health is expected to increase in the upcoming decades. Therefore, the implementation of heat-health action plans is urgently needed to protect the public.

In this Review, we aim to provide an overview of the consequences of climate change on cardiovascular health, which result from direct exposure pathways, such as shifts in ambient temperature, air pollution, forest fires, desert (dust and sand) storms and extreme weather events. We also describe the populations that are most susceptible to the health effects caused by climate change and propose potential mitigation strategies, with an emphasis on collaboration at the scientific, governmental and policy levels.

The associations between ambient coarse particulate matter (PM2.5–10) and daily mortality are not fully understood globally. We collected daily mortality (total, cardiovascular, and respiratory) and air pollution data from 205 cities in 20 countries/regions. This study provides novel global evidence on the robust and independent associations between short-term exposure to ambient PM2.5–10 and total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality, suggesting the need to establish a unique guideline or regulatory limit for daily concentrations of PM2.5–10.

Globally, a substantial mortality burden was associated with temperature variability, showing geographical heterogeneity and a slightly increasing temporal trend. Our findings could assist in raising public awareness and improving the understanding of the health impacts of temperature variability.

Studies have investigated the effects of heat and temperature variability (TV) on mortality. However, few assessed whether TV modifies the heat-mortality association.TV was calculated as the standard deviation of the average of the same and previous days’ minimum and maximum temperatures.TV had a significant modification effect on the heat-mortality association, causing a higher heat-related mortality burden with increments of TV. Implementing targeted strategies against heat exposure and fluctuant temperatures simultaneously would benefit public health.

Our findings show that reanalysis temperature from the last ERA5 products generally compare well to station observations, with similar non-optimal temperature-related risk estimates. However, the analysis offers some indication of lower performance in tropical regions, with a likely underestimation of heat-related excess mortality. Reanalysis data represent a valid alternative source of exposure variables in epidemiological analyses of temperature-related risk.

The report “Interactive Effects of High Temperature and Air Pollution in Europe” was prepared as a milestone by researchers in the EU Project EXHAUSTION*. This report summarises the evidence on the interactive effects of high temperature and various air pollutants on heart- and lung-related deaths and diseases (cardiopulmonary (CPD) mortality and morbidity) across Europe. The study was conducted at the city, small-area (e.g. suburban areas or municipalities), and individual level. The findings highlight the urgency in improving air quality across Europe, and alert stakeholders and policymakers that climate change adaptation measures need to be also taken into account to protect vulnerable subgroups and thereby increase European resilience towards climate change.

European air quality has worsened in recent decades as a consequence of increased anthropogenic emissions, in particular from the power generation sector. It is mainly associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, along with morbidity and even mortality. The mitigation scenario (REN80-P2050) demonstrates that the effects of a mitigation policy of increasing the ratio of renewable sources in the energy mix could lead to a decrease of over 60 000 (95 % CI 48 500–70 900) annual PD for the year 2050 (a decrease of −4 % in comparison with the no-mitigation scenario FUT-P2050). Despite the uncertainties inherent in future estimations, this contribution reveals the need for governments and public entities to take action and choose air pollution mitigation policies.