15.08.2019

Press release

Heatwaves Increase Emergency Admissions to Swiss Hospitals

Swiss TPH The fact that heat threatens people's well-being comes as no surprise. The first scientific evaluation of the extent to which heatwaves influence emergency hospital admissions in Switzerland, however, has only been conducted recently. The summer of 2015—after 2003 the second hottest summer in Switzerland since temperature observation—caused more than 2,700 additional emergency admissions to Swiss hospitals. The most frequent causes were infectious diseases and diseases of the genitourinary system, as well as influenza and pneumonia. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health on 15 August 2019. (Photo: Swiss TPH)