ppi-196 newSingLang 16/5/05 4:05 pm Page ii ppi-196 newSingLang 16/5/05 4:05 pm Page iii Under the Weather How the Weather and Climate Affect our Health PAT THOMAS ppi-196 newSingLang 16/5/05 4:05 pm Page iv First published in 2004 by Fusion Press, a division of Satin Publications Ltd. 101 Southwark Street London SE10JF UK
[email protected] www.visionpaperbacks.co.uk Publisher: Sheena Dewan © Pat Thomas 2004 The right of Pat Thomas to be identified as the author of the work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 1-904132-30-8 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 Cover and text design by ok?design. Printed and bound in the UK by Mackays of Chatham Ltd, Chatham, Kent. ppi-196 newSingLang 16/5/05 4:05 pm Page v to weather watchers everywhere ppi-196 newSingLang 16/5/05 4:05 pm Page vi ppi-196 newSingLang 16/5/05 4:05 pm Page vii Contents Acknowledgements ix Preface xi Chapter 1 The Human Barometer 1 Chapter 2 Of Seasons and Cycles 24 Chapter 3 The Sun and the Moon 42 Chapter 4 When the Wind Blows 63 Chapter 5 Stormy Weather 92 Chapter 6 Having a Heatwave 109 Chapter 7 Winter Chills 139 Chapter 8 Artificial Environments 165 References 197 Bibliography 248 Index 251 About the Author 258 ppi-196 newSingLang 16/5/05 4:05 pm Page viii ppi-196 newSingLang 16/5/05 4:05 pm Page ix Acknowledgements Although this book started out as a small project, it soon became apparent that there was a wealth of information on the weather/health link buried in various libraries, second-hand bookshops and medical and scientific jour- nals around the world.