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Extreme heat and mortality rates in Las Vegas, Nevada: inter-annual variations and thresholds

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Abstract

Hourly temperature and dew point from Las Vegas were collected and used to estimate the heat index and excess heat factor. The indices were used with data of heat-related deaths to assess the effect of extreme heat on the population. The trends of the heat indices were analyzed for 2007–2016, and the correlation between heat wave episodes and the number of heat-related deaths was estimated. Both indices showed a clear increase over the last ten years in the severity and number of heat wave events per year. The number of heat wave episodes increased, while their duration decreased. The number of heat-related deaths was also found to increase, with 2016 having the highest number of heat-related deaths. For the period, 437 heat-related deaths were registered in Las Vegas. The most vulnerable subpopulation was people over 50 years old, for which 76% of the heat-related deaths were associated with preexisting heart disease.

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Acknowledgements

This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation (Grant IIA-1301726). The authors thank the Clark County Coroner/Medical Examiner Office for providing information for heat-related deaths. J. Mejia thanks NASA (Grant NNX12AF57G) and DRI for their support in developing this manuscript. The authors also thank Ms. Nicole Damon (DRI) for her editorial review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Desert Research Institute, 755 E. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV, 89119-7363, USA

    E. R. Bandala & J. F. Mejia

  2. Nevada State College, 130 Nevada State Dr., Henderson, NV, 89002, USA

    K. Kebede, N. Jonsson, R. Murray & D. Green

  3. Universidad de Las Americas Puebla, Sta. Catarina Martir, Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

    P. F. Martinez-Austria

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  1. E. R. Bandala
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  2. K. Kebede
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  6. J. F. Mejia
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Correspondence to E. R. Bandala.

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Editorial Responsibiility: Zhenyao Shen.

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Bandala, E.R., Kebede, K., Jonsson, N. et al. Extreme heat and mortality rates in Las Vegas, Nevada: inter-annual variations and thresholds. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 16, 7175–7186 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-019-02357-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-019-02357-9

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