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The effects of extreme heat on human health in tropical Africa

Kunda, Joshua Jonah; Gosling, Simon N; Foody, Giles M

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Authors

Joshua Jonah Kunda



Abstract

This review examines high-quality research evidence that synthesises the effects of extreme heat on human health in tropical Africa. Web of Science (WoS) was used to identify research articles on the effects extreme heat, humidity, Wet-bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), apparent temperature, wind, Heat Index, Humidex, Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), heatwave, high temperature and hot climate on human health, human comfort, heat stress, heat rashes, and heat-related morbidity and mortality. A total of 5, 735 articles were initially identified, which were reduced to 100 based on a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The review discovered that temperatures up to 60°C have been recorded in the region and that extreme heat has many adverse effects on human health, such as worsening mental health in low-income adults, increasing the likelihood of miscarriage, and adverse effects on well-being and safety, psychological behaviour, efficiency, and social comfort of outdoor workers who spend long hours performing manual labour. Extreme heat raises the risk of death from heat-related disease, necessitating preventative measures such as adaptation methods to mitigate the adverse effects on vulnerable populations during hot weather. This study highlights the social inequalities in heat exposure and adverse health outcomes.

Citation

Kunda, J. J., Gosling, S. N., & Foody, G. M. (2024). The effects of extreme heat on human health in tropical Africa. International Journal of Biometeorology, 68, 1015-1033. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-024-02650-4

Journal Article Type Review
Acceptance Date Mar 4, 2024
Online Publication Date Mar 25, 2024
Publication Date 2024-06
Deposit Date Mar 7, 2024
Publicly Available Date Mar 26, 2025
Journal International Journal of Biometeorology
Print ISSN 0020-7128
Electronic ISSN 1432-1254
Publisher Springer Verlag
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 68
Pages 1015-1033
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-024-02650-4
Keywords Climate change. Extreme heat. Human health. Tropical Africa
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/32172567
Publisher URL https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00484-024-02650-4

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Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2024
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.






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