TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2009//
TI  - Variation of daily warm season mortality as a function of micro-urban heat islands
JO  - Journal of epidemiology and community health
A1  - Smargiassi, A.
A1  - Goldberg, Matthew S.
A1  - Plante, C.
A1  - Fournier, M.
A1  - Baudouin, Y.
A1  - Kosatsky, Tom
SP  - 659
EP  - 664
VL  - 63
IS  - 8
N2  - BACKGROUND: Little attention has been paid to how heat-related health effects vary with the micro-urban variation of outdoor temperatures. In this paper we explore whether persons located in micro-urban heat islands are at higher risk of mortality during hot summer days. METHODS: Data used include 1) daily mortality for Montreal (Canada) for June-August 1990-2003, 2) daily mean ambient outdoor temperatures at the local International Airport and, 3) two thermal surface images (Landsat satellites, infra-red wave lengths). A city-wide temperature vs daily mortality function was established on the basis of a case-crossover design; this function was stratified according to the surface temperature at decedents' place of death. RESULTS: The risk of death on warm summer days in areas with higher surface temperatures was greater than in areas with lower surface temperatures. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that measures aimed at reducing the temperature in micro-urban heat islands (e.g. urban greening activities) may reduce the health impact of hot temperatures. Further studies are needed to document the variation of heat-related risks within cities and to evaluate the health benefits of measures aimed at reducing the temperature in micro-urban heat islands.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0143-005X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.2008.078147
ID  - ref1
ER  -