Heat Waves and Their Impacts on Human

Health in Urban Areas of Central Oklahoma

Emma Fagan, Jessica Voveris, Kyle Thiem

University of Oklahoma, School of Meteorology

Heather BasaraAssistant Professor, University of Oklahoma

Department of Geography

Jeffrey BasaraAssociate Professor, University of Oklahoma

School of Meteorology

Background Heat waves are common

occurrences Especially dangerous within urban

environments UHI phenomenon Higher air pollutant concentrations

Chicago (1995), Europe (2003), Russia (2010)

Basara et al. 2008

Societal Impacts Heat, respiratory, and cardiovascular

related illnesses increase exponentially during extreme heat events

Increased urbanization in the future Heat waves are projected to increase in

frequency, longevity, and intensity Better mitigation techniques are needed

European Heat Wave of 2003

Research Goals Expand the current knowledge of the

relationships between heat waves, urban environments, and human health

Determine which populations are most at risk during extreme heat events within Oklahoma City at a neighborhood scale

Procedures Calculate apparent temperature via Oklahoma

Mesonet and Oklahoma City Micronet data from the Central Oklahoma heat wave from 2008 for urban, suburban, and rural areas.

Analyze demographic risk factors such as age, socio-economic status, geographic location, income, education level, & ethnicity

Use ArcGIS software to overlay apparent temperature, ozone, and demographic data from U.S. Census Bureau

Basara et al. 2011

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