Evaluating the effect of climatic human comfort on the human infant health, case study of Shiraz city, Iran

Human infant health and its relation to climatic conditions is considered in Shiraz, a densely populated city in southern Iran for a 16-year period between 1991 and 2007. The effective temperature index is considered for this study to evaluate the bioclimatic human comfort in the study area. While the months like February, January and August have the most number of deaths with an average number of more than 200, May and November have the least death numbers by less than 120. The number of deaths caused by cold in cold and cool months is more in comparison with those caused by jaundice. Such condition is exactly vice versa for warm months. Regarding the seasonal effects caused by global warming within the area during the recent 55-year period, a general increasing pattern for ambient temperature is observed; such pattern will insure the allocation of springtime in the range of comfort in the near future. According to the data gathered, the wintertime has the most number of infant deaths [219] during the period. Summer, fall and spring with respective average death numbers of 207, 198 and 198 are relatively more secure regarding the infant health. Accordingly, the spring time is considered to be the best period for giving birth to the children because of the lowest rate of infant deaths during a relatively long period, as well as the prospective future status regarding the climatic human comfort following the global warming regime in the local scale of the study area.