Heat Waves and Hospital Admissions in Vienna: Evidence from a Decade of Health and Climate Data

Riccardo Lucarno , Unversity of Trento
Andrea Tamburini, IIASA
Erich Striessnig, University of Vienna

Extreme heat has emerged as a critical public health concern in Europe, with climate change driving more frequent and intense heat waves. This study investigates the short-term impacts of heat waves on hospital admissions in Vienna between 2009 and 2018, using a high-resolution panel combining more than 8.6 million hospital records with daily meteorological data at a 1×1 km grid scale. We employ fixed-effects Negative Binomial panel regressions to isolate the causal impact of heat exposure from spatial and temporal confounders. The analysis disaggregates admissions by ICD-10 disease categories, including cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, metabolic, dehydration-related, mental health, and injury causes. Results show a robust and significant increase in hospitalizations during extreme heat events, with a 0.8–1.0% rise per degree Celsius above 30°C. The strongest associations are observed for dehydration, renal, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases, while prolonged exposure is linked to higher mental health admissions. Elderly individuals are disproportionately affected, reflecting heightened physiological vulnerability. Spatial heterogeneity indicates that low-education and lower-income areas face greater risks, emphasizing the social dimensions of climate-health impacts. Overall, the findings demonstrate that heat waves exert multifaceted and unequal pressures on urban health systems, underscoring the need for targeted adaptation policies, early-warning systems, and infrastructure planning to enhance resilience in a warming urban environment.

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 Presented in Session 60. Climate Change, Environment and Health