| Description |
1 online resource (1 PDF file (36 pages)) : illustrations |
| Series |
Climate change and your health |
|
Climate change and your health.
|
| Contents |
How we analyzed summer weather trends in the Midwest -- Findings : the Midwest is heating up -- The impact of dangerous summer weather on health -- Building resilient communities -- Where do we go from here |
| Summary |
Research has shown that hot summer weather and heat waves have become more common, on average, in the nation's heartland over the last six decades. This document focuses on the Midwest because it has many large population centers and is projected to see an increase in heat waves as the climate warms. With its highly variable climate, the Midwest is also one of the most sensitive regions when it comes to human responses to excessive heat. To better understand weather trends across this region, the authors analyzed weather in five major urban areas and five nearby smaller cities: Chicago and Peoria, IL; Cincinnati and Toledo, OH; Detroit, MI; Lexington, KY; Minneapolis and Rochester, MN; and St. Louis and Columbia, MO. We examined changes in summertime weather patterns using information dating back to the 1940s and 1950s, when complete digital weather records became available in those cities. They focused on weather systems called air masses: vast bodies of air that define the weather around us. They explored whether the number of days with dangerously hot summer air masses, which are linked to human health risks, as well as cool, dry summer air masses has changed over the last 60 years. They also examined how average daytime and nighttime temperatures and humidity levels within these weather systems have changed over time. They did so because high temperature, lack of cooling relief at night, and high humidity all contribute to heat-related illness. The aim was not only to understand how summer weather has changed in the Midwest, but also to shed light on the importance of city-level efforts to minimize the health risks of future climate change |
| Notes |
Title from PDF cover |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references |
| Notes |
Version viewed on July 24, 2015 |
| Subject |
Climatic changes.
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Cities and towns.
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Seasons.
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Health planning.
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Climate Change
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Cities
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Extreme Heat -- adverse effects
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Humidity -- adverse effects
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Seasons
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Health Planning
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climate change.
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cities.
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Cities and towns
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Climatic changes
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Health planning
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Seasons
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| SUBJECT |
Midwestern United States |
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| Author |
Union of Concerned Scientists, issuing body.
|
| LC no. |
2014397728 |
|
