López-Bueno, José Antonio
[Author];
Miguel Ángel, Navas-Martín
[Author];
Díaz, Julio
[Author];
Mirón, Isidro Juan
[Author];
Luna, María Yolanda
[Author];
Sánchez-Martínez, Gerardo
[Author];
Culqui, Dante
[Author];
Linares, Cristina
[Author]
Population Vulnerability to Cold Waves in Rural and Urban Municipalities in Ten Provinces in Spain
Description:
Background: The objective of this study was to analyze whether there are differences in vulnerability to cold waves (CW) between rural and urban populations in Spain.Methodology: Time series analysis carried out from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2013. Municipalities with over 10,000 inhabitants were included from 10 Spanish provinces, classified into 42 groups by isoclimate and urban/rural character as defined by Eurostat criteria. The statistical strategy was carried out in two phases. First: It was analysed the relationship between minimum daily temperature (Tmin) (source: AEMET) and the rate of daily winter mortality due to natural causes —CIE-10: A00 – R99— (source: National Statistics Institute). Then, It was determinated the threshold of Tmin that initiates the CW and its percentile in the series of winter Tmin (Pthreshold), which is a measure of vulnerability to CW so that the higher the percentile, the higher the vulnerability. Second: possible explanatory variables of vulnerability were explored using Mixed Generalized Models, using 13 independent variables related to meteorology, environment, socioeconomics, demographics and housing quality.Results: The average Pthreshold was 18 percent. The final model indicated that for each percentage point increase in unemployment, the vulnerability to a CW increased by 0.4 points. Also, with each point increase in housing quality, this vulnerability decreased by -6.1 points. Although less determinant, other factors that could contribute to explaining vulnerability at the province level included Tmin exposure and the percentage of housing with poor insulation.Conclusions: The vulnerability to cold waves was greater in urban zones than in rural zones. Socioeconomic status is a key to understanding how this vulnerability is distributed. These results suggest the need to implement public health prevention plans to address cold waves at the state level. These plans should be based on threshold temperatures determined at the smallest scale possible