Assessing urban heat island temperature-related deaths

• The urban heat island effect, where cities have higher ambient temperatures than rural areas, could reduce cold-related deaths in some global cities.

• The effect increases human heat exposure and subsequent deaths during hotter seasons, but also impacts cold-related deaths in cooler conditions.

• Dr. Wenfeng Zhan from Nanjing University found that the reduction in cold-related mortality under the urban heat island effect is 4.4 times greater than the increase in heat-related mortality in 2018.

• Cities at high latitudes saw even higher reductions, with Moscow seeing a reduction 11.5 times greater than those associated with heat.

• Strategies to mitigate the urban heat island effect include increasing vegetation and building reflectivity, which could result in an increase in cold-related deaths that surpasses heat-related deaths globally.

• The authors suggest a seasonal approach to mitigating the urban heat island effect.