Journal article
Individual and city-level variations in heat-related road traffic deaths in Latin America
Nature Cities, v 2(9), pp 897-906
Sep 2025
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Latin America experiences both high road traffic mortality and extreme heat, which have been shown elsewhere to be interrelated. However, few studies have examined this association in Latin America—one of the world’s most urbanized, fastest-motorizing regions, with a high share of vulnerable road users—and even fewer have analyzed multiple cities across diverse climates and urban settings. Leveraging ambient temperature and road traffic mortality data (2000–2019) from 272 cities in six Latin American countries, we conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study. On the basis of over 1.9 million city-days of data, we found that road traffic mortality risk generally increased with temperature in a monotonic pattern, with significantly elevated risk on extremely hot days, defined at the 95th and 99th temperature percentiles. Risks were particularly high among younger individuals (≤19 years), males, motorcyclists and bicyclists and in cities with hotter climates, longer commutes and more extended street segments. Cities in the tropical Global South should prioritize protecting vulnerable road users, particularly those in peripheral areas, where many endure long, heat-exposed commutes in informal, non-climate-controlled transport.
Extreme heat in Latin America increases road traffic mortality risks, with motorcyclists and bicyclists facing a 27% higher risk on the hottest days. Urban protection measures for vulnerable commuters in cities in the Global South are critical as climate change intensifies heat exposure.
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Details
- Title
- Individual and city-level variations in heat-related road traffic deaths in Latin America
- Creators
- Cheng-Kai Hsu - Department of City and Regional Planning and Institute of Transportation Studies, University of CaliforniaD. Alex Quistberg - Drexel University, Environmental and Occupational HealthBrisa N. Sánchez - Drexel UniversityJosiah L. Kephart - Drexel UniversityUsama Bilal - Drexel UniversityNelson Gouveia - Universidade de São PauloCarolina Pérez Ferrer - Center for Research in Population Health, National Institute of Public HealthWaleska T. Caiaffa - Observatory for Urban Health in Belo Horizonte, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas GeraisAmélia Augusta de Lima Friche - Observatory for Urban Health in Belo Horizonte, School of Medicine, Federal University of Minas GeraisIgnacio Yannone - Institute of Collective Health, National University of Lanús (ISCo-UNLa)Daniel A. Rodríguez - Department of City and Regional Planning and Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California
- Publication Details
- Nature Cities, v 2(9), pp 897-906
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group US; LONDON
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- Wellcome Trust initiative Our Planet, Our Health: 205177/Z/16/Z NIH: P20MD019221
This project was supported by the Wellcome Trust initiative Our Planet, Our Health (grant no. 205177/Z/16/Z). We also acknowledge partial support from NIH grant P20MD019221 to C.-K.H., B.N.S., J.L.K., U.B., N.G., W.T.C., A.A.d.L.F. and D.A.R.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Drexel FIRST (Center for Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends); Urban Health Collaborative; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Environmental and Occupational Health
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001630929300008
- Other Identifier
- 991022118664204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Environmental Sciences
- Regional & Urban Planning
- Urban Studies