Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/89875 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 7875
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This study comprehensively assesses the immediate effects of extreme weather conditions and high concentrations of ambient air pollution on population health. For Germany and the years 1999 to 2008, we link the universe of all 170 million hospital admissions, along with all 8 million deaths, with weather and pollution data reported at the day-county level. Extreme heat significantly increases hospitalizations and deaths. Extreme cold has a negligible effect on population health. High ambient PM10, O3 and NO2 concentrations are associated with increased hospitalizations and deaths, particularly when ignoring simultaneous weather and pollution conditions. We find strong evidence for harvesting, and that the instantaneous heat-health relationship is only present in the short-term. We calculate that one Hot Day with a temperature higher than 30 °C (86 °F) triggers short-term adverse health effects valued between $0.10 and $0.68 per resident.
Subjects: 
register data
hospital admissions
mortality
weather and pollution
climate change
JEL: 
I12
I18
Q51
Q53
Q54
Q58
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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