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Heat waves pose significant mortality risks, particularly for older persons and those with cardiovascular diseases, as established in studies in the United States and China.
This report quantifies the impact of the unprecedented June 2023 heat waves in Northern China across 420 counties, documenting 599 early-onset, intense, prolonged events and estimating excess mortality at 6.1 per million overall (higher at 4.7 for thoses agaed over 65 years and 5.6 for cardiovascular patients), including 6.2 per million from one prolonged June 21 to 27 wave.
Findings support implementing targeted early warning systems and protective interventions for vulnerable groups like old adults and cardiovascular patients during similar extreme heat events.
Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) imposes a heavy burden on both patients and their families. However, there are no reports on the health disparities between residents with long-term exposure to KBD risk factors in endemic and non-endemic areas.
For ischemic heart diseases, the age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) were significantly higher in endemic areas, particularly among males, residents aged ≥65 years, and residents in economically developed regions. For malignant neoplasms of the digestive organs, ASMR was higher in endemic areas, and a significant difference in ASMR between the two areas was observed in females. For cerebral infarction, the ASMR was significantly lower in endemic areas, particularly among residents in economically developed regions. The rate of life lost due to ischemic heart diseases and malignant neoplasms of digestive organs was relatively high in endemic areas, while the rate due to cerebral infarction was relatively high in non-endemic areas.
These findings provide scientific evidence for optimizing comprehensive prevention and control strategies for endemic diseases, and strengthening interventions for key diseases.
Heat-vulnerability assessment is an essential approach for identifying populations and regions that are vulnerable to extreme heat and supporting targeted climate adaptation and public-health interventions.
This study updates the national assessment to 2020; the Boruta algorithm is employed to objectively identify the indicators most strongly associated with the proportion of non-accidental deaths on extreme heat days and a revised heat-vulnerability index (HVI) is constructed.
The updated county-level HVI provides policymakers with a precise understanding of current heat-vulnerability patterns in China. These findings will facilitate a more effective identification of high-vulnerability regions.
Indoor radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, but previous studies in China have mainly focused on urban areas, with limited data from rural areas.
A survey of 20 cities from 2023–2025 shows that median indoor radon concentrations in rural areas (72 Bq/m3) are higher than in urban areas (65 Bq/m3). Higher levels are also associated with northern regions, low floor levels, brick-wood structures, and energy-efficient buildings.
It is recommended to control radon release from building materials at the source, improve ventilation, seal cracks in walls and floors, and pay attention to rural and cold climate regions.
This perspective examines the July 2025 chikungunya fever outbreak in Guangdong Province as a sentinel event exposing a practical gap in climate-resilient urban design. As of July 26, 2025, Guangdong had reported 4,824 confirmed cases, 98.5% in Foshan City and most concentrated in Shunde District. Although sponge-city green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) strengthens urban flood resilience, its detention and retention features can also generate cryptic, hard-to-inspect water habitats that sustain Aedes mosquito breeding under hot, humid conditions when post-storm dry-down and maintenance fall short. This perspective synthesizes outbreak context, China’s sponge-city evaluation metrics, and vector-ecology thresholds to define a vector-proofing gap: prevailing sponge-city guidance excels in hydrological performance but typically lacks explicit, measurable constraints on water residence time and inspectability tied directly to vector risk. An operational vector-proofing framework is proposed that 1) translates entomological risk into engineering indicators (e.g., post-storm dry-down within 48–72 hours where feasible, access/inspectability, and trigger-based maintenance), 2) embeds vector impact assessment across the project lifecycle, and 3) clarifies cross-sector responsibilities among housing/urban–rural development, water resources, and health agencies. Aligning hydrological and entomological objectives can reduce the likelihood that climate adaptation investments inadvertently shift risk from flooding to arboviral transmission.