Cold summer with health benefits

Bad weather health better than heat waves?

10.08.2011

For the health of the currently bad summer weather is sometimes quite beneficial. The complaints of prolonged heat waves observed in recent years are likely to be largely absent this year.

While most Germans currently complain about the rainy summer, experts point to the health benefits of cooler weather conditions. Although lighter health complaints due to the changeable weather can be favored, but serious consequences such as increased deaths in the wake of heat waves, in view of the current weather is not to be feared, said the medical meteorologist Christina Koppe of the German Weather Service „World Online“.

Health complaints due to changeable weather
According to a survey by the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy and the Institute of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Munich, the extremely variable weather conditions are causing about 50 percent of Germans health problems. But the mentioned impairments are relatively low in comparison to the consequences of corresponding heat waves and not all people are affected equally by the change of sun, wind, rain and temperatures, explained the Freiburg medical meteorologist „World Online“. Also threaten no extreme health consequences „like increased deaths from heat waves“ , So Koppe on. As an example of the current summer weather, the expert mentioned growing symptoms of a sudden increase in temperature in people with more frequent headaches, migraines or thrombosis. Furthermore, especially patients with hypertension often have considerable difficulties with sudden temperature reductions, said Koppe.

Healthily weakened persons susceptible to weather fluctuations
Overall, however, the weather is, according to the medical meteorologist only in health-weakened individuals triggers serious health problems. Often, the weakened body is particularly sensitive, but the weather itself does not make it sick, Koppe emphasized. In addition, most people cope with the current weather better than the extreme heat waves of recent years. And in the face of climate change, the medical meteorologist expects that cooler, healthier summers will remain an exception in the future. Rather, the expert expects much warmer summers, which can be a serious burden especially for elderly and sick people. Remedy could provide a basic lifestyle adjustment, for example, with longer breaks at lunchtime, according to Koppe. Also structural measures, such as the cold and heat insulation of houses should be mentioned in this context, explained the medical meteorologist.

Threatening health complaints in hot summers
Last summer, the possible health problems at extreme temperatures were also made alarming by the failure of the air conditioning systems in some of Deutsche Bahn's ICE trains. Many passengers suffered from severe circulatory problems, collapsed or got a heat shock. In addition, the risk of dehydration (dehydration) at temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius in the wagons was not to be underestimated. In the end, the majority of passengers were completely exhausted, and not infrequently a rescue service for the passengers was required. In the first place, children and older passengers were among those affected. Comparable scenes are in view of the mostly rainy, changeable weather, this year, however, not expected and so experts such as the medical meteorologist Christina Koppe of the German Weather Service can also gain something good from the mixed summer. (Fp)

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Picture: Peter Friday