Increased Minimum Mortality Temperature in France: Data Suggest Humans Are Adapting to Climate Change

Julia R. Barrett, MS, ELS, a Madison, WI–based science writer and editor, is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences. About This Article open Citation: Barrett JR. 2015. Increased minimum mortality temperature in France: data suggest humans are adapting to climate change. Environ Health Perspect 123:A184; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.123-A184 News Topics: Climate Change, Temperature Published: 1 July 2015 PDF Version (334 KB) Related EHP Article Space–Time Covariation of Mortality with Temperature: A Systematic Study of Deaths in France, 1968–2009 Nicolas Todd and Alain-Jacques Valleron Outdoor temperatures can influence population mortality rates, with the mortality–temperature relationship typically depicted as a U- or J-shaped curve.1 The lowest point of this curve defines the minimum mortality temperature (MMT)—that is, the temperature with the lowest mortality rate—while the raised ends represent increased deaths at both lower and higher temperatures. A new study in this issue of EHP that’s based on 42 years’ worth of climatic and mortality data shows that the MMT in France has increased over time, suggesting some measure of adaptation to warming during that period.1 Climate change models predict higher average temperatures and more frequent and intense heat waves in the coming decades.2,3 Hot weather contributes to potentially deadly heat exhaustion and heat strok...
Source: EHP Research - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Featured News Science Selection Climate Change July 2015 Temperature Source Type: research