ArticleEnvironmental health : a global access science source2013
Are heat warning systems effective?
Article in Environmental health : a global access science source, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A Systematic Review of Heat Health Warning Systems: Enhancing the Framework Towards Effective Health Outcomes.Current environmental health reports · 2025Pooled it
- The Impact of Heatwaves on Mortality and Morbidity and the Associated Vulnerability Factors: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Is planned adaptation to heat reducing heat-related mortality and illness? A systematic review.BMC public health · 2014Pooled it
- Mobile Heat Early Warning System for Pregnant and Postpartum Women in South Africa: Prospective Observational Evaluation Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Observational
- A healthy cities agenda for extreme heat adaptation in urban settings.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2026Article
- The effectiveness of heat prevention plans in reducing heat-related mortality across Europe.Environmental research letters : ERL [Web site] · 2025Article
- An Evaluation of Health and Safety Personnel and Workers' Occupational Heat Stress Knowledge in Ontario: Paper B.American journal of industrial medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Exposure to wildfire-related PM2.5 and site-specific cancer mortality in Brazil from 2010 to 2016: A retrospective study.PLoS medicine · 2022Article
- Evaluating the Sensitivity of Heat Wave Definitions among North Carolina Physiographic Regions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Indoor Temperatures in the 2018 Heat Wave in Quebec, Canada: Exploratory Study Using Ecobee Smart Thermostats.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Investigating city bike rental usage and wet-bulb globe temperature.International journal of biometeorology · 2022Article
- Health effects from heat waves in France: an economic evaluation.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2022Article
- Urban heat: an increasing threat to global health.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Article
- Selecting Thresholds of Heat-Warning Systems with Substantial Enhancement of Essential Population Health Outcomes for Facilitating Implementation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Accessibility of cooling centers to heat-vulnerable populations in New York State.Journal of transport & health · 2019Article
- Heat Warnings in Switzerland: Reassessing the Choice of the Current Heat Stress Index.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Public perceptions of the health risks of extreme heat across US states, counties, and neighborhoods.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- The predictability of heat-related mortality in Prague, Czech Republic, during summer 2015-a comparison of selected thermal indices.International journal of biometeorology · 2019Article
- Assessment of extreme heat and hospitalizations to inform early warning systems.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Heatwaves are associated with significant health risks particularly among vulnerable groups. To minimize these risks, heat warning systems have been implemented. The question therefore is how effective these systems are in saving lives and reducing heat-related harm. We systematically searched and reviewed 15 studies which examined this. Six studies asserted that fewer people died of excessive heat after the implementation of heat warning systems. Demand for ambulance decreased following the implementation of these systems. One study also estimated the costs of running heat warning systems at US$210,000 compared to the US$468 million benefits of saving 117 lives. The remaining eight studies investigated people's response to heat warning systems and taking appropriate actions against heat harms. Perceived threat of heat dangers emerged as the main factor related to heeding the warnings and taking proper actions. However, barriers, such as costs of running air-conditioners, were of significant concern, particularly to the poor. The weight of the evidence suggests that heat warning systems are effective in reducing mortality and, potentially, morbidity. However, their effectiveness may be mediated by cognitive, emotive and socio-demographic characteristics. More research is urgently required into the cost-effectiveness of heat warning systems' measures and improving the utilization of the services.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.