Overview of Existing Heat-Health Warning Systems in Europe

Ana Casanueva, Annkatrin Burgstall, Sven Kotlarski, Alessandro Messeri, Marco Morabito, Andreas D. Flouris, Lars Nybo, Christoph Spirig and Cornelia Schwierz
Additional contact information
Ana Casanueva: Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, 8058 Zurich Airport, Switzerland
Annkatrin Burgstall: Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, 8058 Zurich Airport, Switzerland
Sven Kotlarski: Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, 8058 Zurich Airport, Switzerland
Alessandro Messeri: Centre of Bioclimatology (CIBIC), University of Florence, 50144 Florence, Italy
Marco Morabito: Centre of Bioclimatology (CIBIC), University of Florence, 50144 Florence, Italy
Andreas D. Flouris: FAME Laboratory, Department of Exercise Science, University of Thessaly, 42100 Trikala, Greece
Lars Nybo: Department of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, University of Copenhagen (NEXS), 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Christoph Spirig: Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, 8058 Zurich Airport, Switzerland
Cornelia Schwierz: Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, 8058 Zurich Airport, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-22

Abstract: The frequency of extreme heat events, such as the summer of 2003 in Europe, and their corresponding consequences for human beings are expected to increase under a warmer climate. The joint collaboration of institutional agencies and multidisciplinary approaches is essential for a successful development of heat-health warning systems and action plans which can reduce the impacts of extreme heat on the population. The present work constitutes a state-of-the-art review of 16 European heat-health warning systems and heat-health action plans, based on the existing literature, web search (over the National Meteorological Services websites) and questionnaires. The aim of this study is to pave the way for future heat-health warning systems, such as the one currently under development in the framework of the Horizon 2020 HEAT-SHIELD project. Some aspects are highlighted among the variety of examined European warning systems. The meteorological variables that trigger the warnings should present a clear link with the impact under consideration and should be chosen depending on the purpose and target of the warnings. Setting long-term planning actions as well as pre-alert levels might prevent and reduce damages due to heat. Finally, education and communication are key elements of the success of a warning system.

Keywords: heat-health warning system; action plan; intervention strategy; user-tailored; heat stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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