Citation

Majeed H, Coles JG, Moore GWK. Geohealth 2020; 4(2): e2019GH000220.

Affiliation

Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences University of Toronto Mississauga Mississauga Ontario Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American Geophysical Union, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1029/2019GH000220

PMID

32159050

PMCID

PMC7007073

Abstract

The frequency and magnitude of extreme summer temperature events in the United States have increased in the past few decades. Long-term exposure to extreme summer temperatures can be detrimental to human health, due to potential risks of dehydration and thermoregulation strains on the cardiovascular system, which may often lead to heat-related mortality (HRM). The summer climate of the United States is influenced by variability in Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperatures, driven in part by Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), respectively. However, the influence of AMO and ENSO on HRM in the United States has not been investigated. Here the longest time series of HRM spanning the past five decades is analyzed in relation with AMO and ENSO. We find that HRM doubled in the early-1990s, coinciding with the positive phase of the AMO. Furthermore, we note a positive association between the variability in HRM and summer temperatures across all regions of the United States, with the strongest association found over the Southern United States. Therefore, this research suggests that variability in Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperatures has both a nationwide and regional impact on HRM in the United States. Hence, by understanding variability in sea surface temperatures, the future burden of heat-attributed emergencies during extreme summer temperature events can be reduced not only for the United States, but also worldwide.

© 2019. The Authors.

Language: en

Keywords

Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation; El Nino Southern Oscillation; Heat Related Mortality; United States