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Variability and Trend of Heat Index in Thailand during 1975-2017 and Their Relationships with Some Demographic-Health Variables |
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| รหัสดีโอไอ | |
| Creator | 1. Wutthichai Paengkaew 2. Atsamon Limsakul 3. Rittirong Junggoth 4. Somsak Pitaksanurat |
| Title | Variability and Trend of Heat Index in Thailand during 1975-2017 and Their Relationships with Some Demographic-Health Variables |
| Publisher | Thai Society of Higher Education Institutes on Environment |
| Publication Year | 2563 |
| Journal Title | EnvironmentAsia |
| Journal Vol. | 13 |
| Journal No. | 1 |
| Page no. | 26-40 |
| Keyword | Heat index, Trend, Demographic, Health |
| URL Website | http://www.tshe.org/ea/index.html |
| Website title | EnvironmentAsia |
| ISSN | 1906-1714 |
| Abstract | Variability and trend of Heat Index (HI) in Thailand during 1975-2017 and their relationships with some demographic-health variables were analyzed. Results revealed the spatially coherent and widespread significant increase in Thailandีs HI, consistent with significant country-wide warming. Thailandีs HI as a whole significantly increased by 0.53กC per decade, and it was in the caution level but will gradually rise to the extreme caution level in the near future. Accompanying this trend, the HI distribution and characteristic have significantly shifted towards a higher health impact level in the recent decades. In addition, year-to-year HI variability significantly correlated with the El NioะSouthern Oscillation (ENSO) index, providing additional evidence that ENSO events are an important source of Thailandีs climate variability including extremely hot weather. Further analysis showed that Thailandีs HI had good positive associations with some demographic-health variables. These results provide some clues that increasing HI may contribute to elevated cases of heat-sensitive illness and pose an additional health risk to Thai people especially the elder persons which have rapidly grown under the aging society era. To better understand how heat and health in Thailand are linked, however, further detection and attribution studies based on newly available long-term health data are needed. |
