Modification of Heat-Related Mortality in an Elderly Urban Population by Vegetation (Urban Green) and Proximity to Water (Urban Blue): Evidence from Lisbon, Portugal.

Background: Urban populations are highly vulnerable to the adverse effects of heat, with heat-related mortality showing intra-urban variations that are likely due to differences in urban characteristics and socioeconomic status.

Objectives: We investigated the influence of urban green and urban blue, that is, urban vegetation and water bodies, on heat-related excess mortality in the elderly > 65 years old in Lisbon, Portugal, between 1998 and 2008.

Methods: We used remotely sensed data and geographic information to determine the amount of urban vegetation and the distance to bodies of water (the Atlantic Ocean and the Tagus Estuary).

Interactive short-term effects of equivalent temperature and air pollution on human mortality in Berlin and Lisbon.

There is substantial evidence that both temperature and air pollution are predictors of mortality. Thus far, few studies have focused on the potential interactive effects between the thermal environment and different measures of air pollution. Such interactions, however, are biologically plausible, as (extreme) temperature or increased air pollution might make individuals more susceptible to the effects of each respective predictor.