A new study co-authored by a researcher from the EARLY-ADAPT group estimates that one third of deaths attributable to heat islands could be avoided if trees covered 30% of urban space.

Four scientists from the EARLY-ADAPT group are among the 44 leading researchers that make up the Lancet Countdown in Europe initiative.

A study of the correlation between temperature and mortality in the Indian city of Pune has found that cold, rather than heat, is by far the bigger killer.

In this study we have studied the effects of rising temperatures on mortality in Europe according to three climate change scenarios. Depending on the scenario, total attributable mortality will increase notably due to the great increase of heat attributable mortality that will outweigh the reduction in cold attributable mortality. This increase in mortality attributable to temperatures will be more notorious in regions more exposed and vulnerable to heat.

If global warming is not curbed, the increase in heat-related deaths will outstrip the decline in cold-related mortality, especially in the Mediterranean Basin.

The study evaluates the changes in NO₂ and O₃ levels along with the associated impact upon premature mortality during the lockdown of the first wave of COVID-19 across the main Spanish cities. The findings show a strong reduction in NO₂ levels (-45% on average) that was associated with a significant decrease in the number of deaths (172). This reduction in mortality from the NO₂ drop was however partially compensated by a small increase in the number of deaths (22) associated with the rise in O₃ levels during the analysed period in the most populated Spanish cities.

The study assesses the eventual changes in the seasonal distribution of temperature-related mortality from respiratory diseases in Spain between 1980 and 2016.The findings show the complete reversal of the seasonality of temperature-attributable mortality, with a significant shift of the maximum monthly incidence from winter to summer, and the minimum monthly incidence from early and late summer to winter. The reversal in the seasonal distribution of the attributable deaths is not driven by the observed warming in both winter and summer temperatures, but rather by a larger adaptation to cold than heat.

The study analyses trends in temperature-related mortality from cardiovascular diseases in Spain between 1980 and 2016. The main findings show that deaths attributable to heat for the period 2002-2016 were more than 42% lower in men and more than 36% lower in women than in 1980-1994, while deaths attributable to cold were 30% lower in women and nearly 45% lower in men. The study concludes that the observed warming of the climate in Spain has occurred in parallel with substantial adaptation to both high and low temperatures.

The objective of the study was to ascertain whether the pattern of mortality in Europe was procyclical or countercyclical, that is, whether the downward trend in the death rate accelerates or slows down during periods of economic recession. We showed that the decline in mortality accelerated during the recession years, and the tendency towards a reduction in mortality was more marked in the countries and regions where the recession was most severe. The study also considered the daily temperatures recorded during the whole study period to determine whether the trends observed were affected by the seasons, revealing that the relationship between variations in GDP and mortality was accentuated during the coldest months of the year.