Dynamics thresholds for heat-health watch and warning system with extended season

Abstract Background Many countries have developed heat-health watch and warning systems (HHWWS) or early-warning systems to mitigate the health consequences of extreme heat events. HHWWS usually focuses on the four hottest months of the year and imposes the same threshold over these months. However, according to climate projections, the warm season is expected to extend and/or shift. Some studies demonstrated that health impacts of heat waves are more severe when the human body is not acclimatized to the heat. In order to adapt those systems to potential heat waves occurring outside the hottest months of the season, this study proposes specific health-based monthly heat indicators and thresholds over an extended season from April to October in the northern hemisphere. Methods The proposed approach, an adoption and extension of the HHWWS methodology currently implemented in Quebec (Canada). The latter is developed and applied to the Greater Montreal area (current population 4.3 million) based on historical health and meteorological data over the years. This approach consists of determining excess mortality episodes and then choosing monthly indicators and thresholds that may involve excess mortality. Results We obtain thresholds for the maximum and minimum temperature couple (in °C) that range from (respectively, 23 and 12) in April, to (32 and 21) in July and back to (25 and 13) in October. The resulting HHWWS is flexible, with health-related thresholds taking into account the seasonality and the monthly variability of temperatures over an extended summer season. Conclusions This adaptive and more realistic system has the potential to prevent, by data-driven health alerts, heat-related mortality outside the typical July–August months of heat waves. The proposed methodology is general and can be applied to other regions and situations based on their characteristics.

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A Heat-Health Watch and Warning System with Extended Season and Evolving Thresholds.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-46044/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mahamat Abdelkerim Issa ◽

Fateh Chebana ◽

Pierre Masselot ◽

Celine Campagna ◽

Éric Lavigne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Excess Mortality ◽

Heat Waves ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Warning System ◽

Early Warning Systems ◽

Climate Projections ◽

Warning Systems ◽

Extreme Heat Events ◽

Health Related ◽

Watch And Warning System

Abstract BackgroundMany countries have developed heat-health watch and warning systems (HHWWS) or early-warning systems in an attempt to mitigate the health consequences of extreme heat events. HHWWS usually focus on the four hottest months of the year and impose the same threshold over these months. However, according to climate projections, hot season is expected to extend and/or shift. Some studies demonstrated that health impacts of heat waves are more severe when the human body is not acclimatized to heat. In order to adapt those systems to potential heat waves occurring outside the hottest months of the season, this study proposes specific health-based monthly heat indicators and thresholds over an extended season from April to October in the northern hemisphere. MethodsThe proposed approach, an extension of the HHWWS methodology currently adopted in the province of Quebec, Canada, was developed in the Greater Montreal area (current population 4.3 million) based on historical health and meteorological data over the years. This approach consists of determining excess mortality episodes and then choosing indicators and thresholds that may involve excess mortality.ResultsWe obtain thresholds for the maximum and minimum temperature couple (in °C) that range from (23 and 12, respectively) in April, to (32 and 21) in July and back to (25 and 13) in October. The resulting HHWWS is flexible, with health-related thresholds taking into account the seasonality as well as the monthly variability of temperatures in the threshold definition process for an extended summer season. ConclusionsThis adaptive system has the potential to prevent, by data-driven health alerts, heat-related mortality outside the typical July-August months of heat waves. The proposed methodology is general and can be applied or adapted to other regions and situations.

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Proposition of Lags and Variables for a Cold-Health Watch and Warning System in the Province of Quebec

ISEE Conference Abstracts ◽

10.1289/isesisee.2018.p01.0180 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bixun Yan ◽

Fateh Chebana ◽

Céline Campagna ◽

Pierre Masselot ◽

Taha B.M.J. Ouarda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Warning System ◽

Watch And Warning System

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A heat-health watch and warning system with extended season and evolving thresholds.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-46044/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mahamat Abdelkerim Issa ◽

Fateh Chebana ◽

Pierre Masselot ◽

Celine Campagna ◽

Éric Lavigne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Excess Mortality ◽

Heat Waves ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Warning System ◽

Early Warning Systems ◽

Climate Projections ◽

Warning Systems ◽

Extreme Heat Events ◽

Health Related ◽

Watch And Warning System

Abstract Background Many countries have developed heat-health watch and warning systems (HHWWS) or early-warning systems in an attempt to mitigate the health consequences of extreme heat events. HHWWS usually focus on the four hottest months of the year and impose the same threshold over these months. However, according to climate projections, hot season is expected to extend and/or shift. Some studies demonstrated that health impacts of heat waves are more severe when the human body is not acclimatized to heat. In order to adapt those systems to potential heat waves occurring outside the hottest months of the season, this study proposes specific health-based monthly heat indicators and thresholds over an extended season from April to October in the northern hemisphere. Methods The proposed approach, an extension of the HHWWS methodology currently adopted in the province of Quebec, Canada, was developed in the Greater Montreal area (current population 4.3 million) based on historical health and meteorological data over the years. This approach consists of determining excess mortality episodes and then choosing indicators and thresholds that may involve excess mortality.Results We obtain thresholds for the maximum and minimum temperature couple (in °C) that range from (23 and 12, respectively) in April, to (32 and 21) in July and back to (25 and 13) in October. The resulting HHWWS is flexible, with health-related thresholds taking into account the seasonality as well as the monthly variability of temperatures in the threshold definition process for an extended summer season. Conclusions This adaptive system has the potential to prevent, by data-driven health alerts, heat-related mortality outside the typical July-August months of heat waves. The proposed methodology is general and can be applied or adapted to other regions and situations.

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A cold-health watch and warning system, applied to the province of Quebec (Canada)

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140188 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 741 ◽

pp. 140188

Author(s):

Bixun Yan ◽

Fateh Chebana ◽

Pierre Masselot ◽

Céline Campagna ◽

Pierre Gosselin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Warning System ◽

Watch And Warning System

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A cold-health watch and warning system, application to the province of Quebec

ISEE Conference Abstracts ◽

10.1289/isee.2021.p-607 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bixun Yan ◽

Fateh Chebana ◽

Pierre Masselot ◽

Céline Campagna ◽

Pierre Gosselin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

System Application ◽

Warning System ◽

Watch And Warning System

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Food Safety Security: A new Concept for Enhancing Food Safety Measures

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research ◽

10.1024/0300-9831/a000114 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 82 (3) ◽

pp. 216-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Venkatesh Iyengar ◽

Ibrahim Elmadfa

Keyword(s):

Food Safety ◽

Hazard Analysis ◽

Warning System ◽

Shared Responsibility ◽

Fine Tuning ◽

Strategic Action ◽

Surveillance Network ◽

Measurement Systems ◽

Critical Control Points ◽

The Impact

The food safety security (FSS) concept is perceived as an early warning system for minimizing food safety (FS) breaches, and it functions in conjunction with existing FS measures. Essentially, the function of FS and FSS measures can be visualized in two parts: (i) the FS preventive measures as actions taken at the stem level, and (ii) the FSS interventions as actions taken at the root level, to enhance the impact of the implemented safety steps. In practice, along with FS, FSS also draws its support from (i) legislative directives and regulatory measures for enforcing verifiable, timely, and effective compliance; (ii) measurement systems in place for sustained quality assurance; and (iii) shared responsibility to ensure cohesion among all the stakeholders namely, policy makers, regulators, food producers, processors and distributors, and consumers. However, the functional framework of FSS differs from that of FS by way of: (i) retooling the vulnerable segments of the preventive features of existing FS measures; (ii) fine-tuning response systems to efficiently preempt the FS breaches; (iii) building a long-term nutrient and toxicant surveillance network based on validated measurement systems functioning in real time; (iv) focusing on crisp, clear, and correct communication that resonates among all the stakeholders; and (v) developing inter-disciplinary human resources to meet ever-increasing FS challenges. Important determinants of FSS include: (i) strengthening international dialogue for refining regulatory reforms and addressing emerging risks; (ii) developing innovative and strategic action points for intervention {in addition to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) procedures]; and (iii) introducing additional science-based tools such as metrology-based measurement systems.

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