Cold Weather Deaths on the Rise in the Past 20 Years: Diseases to Blame

It was only about a hundred years ago that winter-related deaths were a common occurrence. Winters created a scarcity of food, unbearable freezing temperatures, untreatable illnesses and other problems. Despite warmer winters in recent years, though, cold weather deaths have been on the rise in the past 20 years.

From 1991-2011, statistics have shown that a majority of cold weather deaths were caused by the flu. It's been widely believed that the warming planet should actually reduce deaths during the winter months, but it could actually exacerbate the presence of vector-borne diseases.

In the United States, the flu typically spreads between October and April, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. As the weather gets colder, the virus can spread more easily through the dry air and the lack of vitamin D due to less sun exposure is thought to weaken the immune system.

"Both policy makers and health professionals have, for some time, assumed that a potential benefit from climate change will be a reduction in deaths seen over winter," said Dr. Philip Staddon in this Weather Channel article. "We've shown that this is unlikely to be the case. Efforts to combat winter mortality due to cold spells should not be lessened, and those against flu and flu-like illnesses should also be maintained."

Dr. Staddon and his team of researchers at the University of Exeter and the University College London looked at data from 1951-2011 regarding cold weather deaths. After finding that a majority of these deaths were linked to influenza, they also discovered that the warming planet could actually worsen these numbers. Extreme weather events and varying winter temperatures are believed to contribute to future death-related statistics.

However, these concerns can be mitigated through healthcare improvements, individual health awareness, and household protection from the cold. To read more about winter-related deaths, visit Dr. Staddon's study as well as this Weather Channel article.