Abstract
Older people have justifiably been highlighted as a high-risk group with respect to heat wave mortality and morbidity. However, there are older people living within the community who have developed adaptive and resilient environments around their home that provide some protection during periods of extreme heat. This study investigated the housing stock and self-reported thermal comfort of a group of older people living in a regional town in Australia during the summer of 2012. The results indicated that daily maximum living room temperature was not significantly correlated with outdoor temperature, and daily minimum living room temperature was very weakly correlated with outdoor temperature. Residents reported feeling comfortable when indoor temperature approximated 26 °C. As living room temperature increased, indoor thermal comfort decreased. Significant differences between indoor temperatures were noted for homes that were related to house characteristics such as the age of the house, the number of air-conditioning units, the pitch of the roof, home insulation and the number of heat-mitigation modifications made to the home. Brick veneer homes showed smaller diurnal changes in temperature than other building materials. With population ageing and the increasing focus on older people living in the community, the quality of the housing stock available to them will influence their risk of heat exposure during extreme weather.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adcock MP, Bines WH et al (2000) Heat-related illnesses, deaths, and risk factors, Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, 1999, and United states 1979-1997. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 49:470–473
Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians (2011) Realising the economic potential of senior Australians: Changing face of society. A. G. D. o. Treasury. Canberra, Australian Government
ASHRAE (1966) Thermal comfort conditions Standard 55-60. Am Soc Heat Refrig Air-Cond. Eng. New York: 2
Council of the Ageing, A (2012) COTA Australia policy & position statements, November 2012. COTA Australia, Canberra
D'Ippoliti D, Michelozzi P et al (2010) The impact of heat waves on mortality in 9 European cities: results from the EuroHEAT project. Environ Health 9(37)
Hansen A, Bi P et al (2011) Perceptions of heat-susceptibility in older persons: barriers to adaptation. Int J Environ Res Publ Health 8(12):4714–4728
Harvison T, Newman R et al (2011) Ageing, the built environment and adaptation to climate change. City Futures Research Centre Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW, Australia
IPCC (2012) “Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation.” A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Field CB, Barros V, Stocker TF, Qin D, Dokken DJ, Ebi KL, Mastrandrea MD, Mach KJ, Plattner G-K, Allen SK, Tignor M. and Midgley PM. (eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, 582pp. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.shtml#SREX
Kinney PL, O’Neill MS et al (2008) Approaches for estimating effects of climate change on heat-related deaths: challenges and opportunities. Environ Sci Pol 11(1):87–96
Loughnan M, Nicholls N et al (2010) Mortality-temperature thresholds for ten major population centres in rural Victoria, Australia. Health Place 16(6):1287–1290
Loughnan, ME, Carroll M et al (2013) Learning from our older people: Pilot study findings on responding to heat. Australasian Journal on Ageing Online 6 August 2013
Maller CJ, Strengers Y (2011) Housing, heat stress and health in a changing climate: promoting the adaptive capacity of vulnerable households, a suggested way forward. Health Promot Int 26(4):492–498
Medina-Ramon M, Zanobetti A et al (2006) Extreme temperatures and mortality: assessing effect modification by personal characteristics and specific cause of death in a multi-city case-only analysis. EHP 114(9):1131–1136
Nguyen M, Wang X, et al (2010) An Investigation of Extreme Heatwave Events and Their Effects on Building & Infrastructure, National Research Flagships Climate Adaptation
Palmer J, Bennetts H et al (2013) Adaptation of Australian houses and households to future heat waves, 7th Australian housing researchers’ conference. Curtin University, Fremantle Western Australia
Patz JA, Campbell-Lendrum D et al (2005) Impact of regional climate change on human health. Nature 438(7066):310–317
Reeves J, Foelz C et al (2010) Impacts and adaptation response of infrastructure and communities to heatwaves: the southern Australian experience of 2009. NCCARF, Brisbane, Queensland University Technology and National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility: 160
Schwartz J (2005) Who is sensitive to extremes of temperature? A case-only analysis. Epidemiology 16(1):67–72
Smoyer-Tomic KE, Kuhn R et al (2003) Heat-wave hazards: an overview of heat-waves impacts on Canada. Nat Hazards 28(3):465–486
Snow M, Prasad D (2011) “Climate Change Adaptation for Building Designers: An Introduction.” Environment Design Guide (66): 1-11
Vandentorren S, Bretin P et al (2006) August heat wave in France: risk factors for death of elderly people living at home. Eur J Pub Health 16(6):583–591
Warburton J, Lui C (2007) Social isolation and loneliness among older people: a literature review: Australasian centre on ageing. The University of Queensland, Brisbane
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (Loughnan and Tapper)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Loughnan, M., Carroll, M. & Tapper, N.J. The relationship between housing and heat wave resilience in older people. Int J Biometeorol 59, 1291–1298 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-014-0939-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-014-0939-9