Data from: Avoided heat-related mortality through climate adaptation in three US cities

Heat-related mortality in US cities is expected to more than double by the
mid-to-late 21st century. Rising heat exposure in cities is projected to
result from: 1) climate forcings from changing global atmospheric
composition; and 2) local land surface characteristics responsible for the
urban heat island effect. The extent to which heat management strategies
designed to lessen the urban heat island effect could offset future
heat-related mortality remains unexplored in the literature. Using coupled
global and regional climate models with a human health effects model, we
estimate changes in the number of heat-related deaths in 2050 resulting
from modifications to vegetative cover and surface albedo across three
climatically and demographically diverse US metropolitan areas: Atlanta,
Georgia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Phoenix, Arizona. Employing
separate health impact functions for average warm season and heat wave
conditions in 2050, we find combinations of vegetation and albedo
enhancement to offset projected increases in heat-related mortality by 40
to 99% across the three metropolitan regions. These results demonstrate
the potential for extensive land surface changes in cities to provide
adaptive benefits to urban populations at risk for rising heat exposure
with climate change.