Spatiotemporal variation of attributable deaths to heatwaves in China. (IMAGE)
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Health risks of heatwaves were characterized by rapid growth, nonlinear temporal evolution and extremity. Nationally, the number of annual attributable deaths was an average of 3,679 in 1980s but increased to 15,500 in 2010s. Taking a 5-year moving average, it took 2.8 years for every increase of 1,000 annual heatwave-related deaths from 1980s to 2000s, but just one year for the same increase to occur in 2010s. Also, the attributable deaths reached a highest record of 26,486 in 2017, followed by the second 21,219 in 2019 and the third 20,431 in 2013. Regionally, east and central China had the largest number of attributable deaths in general, accounting for more than 50% of deaths nationwide. Among the provinces, deaths ascribed to heatwaves were highest in Shandong, followed by Henan, Hebei and Jiangsu. a-d, The number of attributable deaths to heatwaves in grid during the past four decades. e, Attributable deaths to heatwaves in China from 1979 to 2020. The solid line shows the estimated number of attributable deaths to heatwaves; grey areas show the 95% confidence intervals; the horizontal dashed line shows the average annual deaths in 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s. f, Changes in attributable deaths to heatwaves in 2010s relative to the baseline period of 1980-2009. AD, attributable deaths to heatwaves. The Map NO. is GS(2019)1673. Art by Huiqi Chen.
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