Khyati Kakkad, Michelle L. Barzaga, Sylvan Wallenstein, Gulrez Shah Azhar, and Perry E. Sheffield

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

Published date March 10, 2014

Neonates in Ahmedabad, India, during the 2010 Heat Wave: A Climate Change Adaptation Study

  • Compares neonatal morbidity in a non-air-conditioned hospital during the 2010 heat wave in Ahmedabad to morbidity in the prior and subsequent years
  • States the outcome of interest was neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions for heat
  • Finds during the months of April, May, and June of 2010, 24 NICU admissions were for heat versus 8 and 4 in 2009 and 2011, respectively
  • Finds both the effect of moving the maternity ward and the effect of high temperatures were statistically significant, controlling for each other
  • Finds that above 42 degrees Celsius, each daily maximum temperature increase of a degree was associated with 43% increase in heat-related admissions
  • States the findings demonstrate the importance of simple surveillance measures in motivating a hospital policy change for climate change adaptation—here relocating one ward—and the potential increasing health burden of heat in non-climate-controlled institutions on vulnerable populations