Japan’s Nagoya Institute researchers create website predicting number of heatstroke patients
The Peninsula
A team of researchers at the Nagoya Institute of Technology is now providing six day forecasts of the number of people expected to be taken to the hos...
A team of researchers at the Nagoya Institute of Technology is now providing six-day forecasts of the number of people expected to be taken to the hospital by ambulance due to heatstroke each day.
These forecasts, which cover Tokyo and seven other prefectures - including Aichi, Osaka and Fukuoka -- are publicly available on their website, at heatstroke.jp. The team intends for these forecasts to help prevent heatstroke and be useful for emergency medical care centers.
The team analyzed weather data from 2013-19 and information on about 140,000 people who were taken to the hospital to come up with a formula.
They also take into account people's physical characteristics, such as the increased risk they face immediately after the end of the rainy season when they are not yet accustomed to the heat, as well as the percentage of elderly residents in each region.
All of this information is combined with weekly weather forecasts from the Japan Meteorological Agency, which are updated daily, to create their heatstroke forecasts.