Upcoming Heat Waves: Death Sentences For The Elderly

A heat wave can triple the number of daily deaths in a city. Summer significantly increases the danger of fatal respiratory illnesses for older people, and women are at greatest risk.

Daniela D’Ippoliti from the Regional Health Authority, Rome, Italy, worked with an international team of researchers to compare the impact of heat waves on mortality in different cities: "Heat waves of long duration had the greatest impact on mortality, and resulted in 1.5 to 3 times higher daily mortality than others. The elderly are most at risk during heat waves, especially women. And the excess mortality is mostly in regard to respiratory, rather than cardiovascular, mortality."

The researchers’ definition of a heat wave was a period of at least two days when “Tappmax,” an interaction between maximum air temperature and humidity, was at a peak, or when the minimum temperature was among the highest 10 percent recorded with Tappmax above average.