Heat stress hazard in the Southern United States : an evaluation using a climatological and demographic model /
This study has examined the link between demographic factors and heat related death in the southern United States. A relationship was established between high heat as measured by the HI and mortality. Persons 65 years of age and older as well as blacks were identified as being at particular risk....
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| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
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[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1996.
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| Online Access: | http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=739668651&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=2945&RQT=309&VName=PQD |
| Summary: | This study has examined the link between demographic factors and heat related death in the southern United States. A relationship was established between high heat as measured by the HI and mortality. Persons 65 years of age and older as well as blacks were identified as being at particular risk. A low number of deaths were recorded in the region during the study period because of ambiguities in classifying primary cause of death and the fact that persons in the South engage in cultural habituation practices which tend to lessen their exposure to severe heat. Study of the frequency distribution of HI associated with the heat related deaths in the region shows a potential problem in the definition of the threshold for NWS hazardous heat advisories. This study proposes lowering the warning threshold to an HI of 1000F. This study also developed a climatology of HI conditions for the stations constituting the NWS Southern Administrative Region. The climatology includes information on maximum HI as well as number of hours per month that HI conditions in the various NWS alert categories can be expected. |
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| Item Description: | Vita. "Major Subject: Geography". |
| Physical Description: | x, 103 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm. Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilms Inc. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references: pages 86-91. |