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Adaptation to extreme heat in Stockholm County, Sweden

Nature Climate Change volume 4, pages 302–303 (2014)Cite this article

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To the Editor —

Oudin Åström et al. argue1 that global climate change has doubled the incidence of heat-related mortality in Stockholm County, Sweden, because of an increase in the number of extreme-heat events between the periods 1900–1929 and 1980–2009. They link this to their finding that no adaptation to extreme heat occurred during the latter period. This conclusion is notable because many studies of trends in heat-related mortality across the United States2,3 and Europe4,5 have reported declines in both total mortality and the sensitivity of urban populations to extreme heat, despite an increasing frequency of extreme-heat events. Such findings indicate that adaptation has more than kept pace with climate change.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, 20001, Washington DC, USA

    Paul Knappenberger & Patrick Michaels

  2. IntelliWeather, 3008 Cohasset Rd Chico, California, 95973, USA

    Anthony Watts

Authors
  1. Paul Knappenberger
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  2. Patrick Michaels
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  3. Anthony Watts
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Correspondence to Paul Knappenberger.

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Knappenberger, P., Michaels, P. & Watts, A. Adaptation to extreme heat in Stockholm County, Sweden. Nature Clim Change 4, 302–303 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2201

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