Few studies evaluate the amount of particulate matter less than 2.5 mm in diameter (PM2.5) in relation to a change in lung function among adults in a population. The aim of this study was to assess the association of coal as a domestic energy source to pulmonary function in an adult population in inner-city areas of Zunyi city in China where coal use is common. In a cross-sectional study of 104 households, pulmonary function measurements were assessed and compared in 110 coal users and 121 non-coal users (≥18 years old) who were all nonsmokers. Several sociodemographic factors were assessed by questionnaire, and ventilatory function measurements including forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), the FEV1/FVC ratio, and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) were compared between the 2 groups. The amount of PM2.5 was also measured in all residences. There was a significant increase in the relative concentration of PM2.5 in the indoor kitchens and living rooms of the coal-exposed group compared to the non-coal-exposed group. In multivariate analysis, current exposure to coal smoke was associated with a 31.7% decrease in FVC, a 42.0% decrease in FEV1, a 7.46% decrease in the FEV1/FVC ratio, and a 23.1% decrease in PEFR in adult residents. The slope of lung function decrease for Chinese adults is approximately a 2-L decrease in FVC, a 3-L decrease in FEV1, and an 8 L/s decrease in PEFR per count per minute of PM2.5 exposure. These results demonstrate the harmful effects of indoor air pollution from coal smoke on the lung function of adult residents and emphasize the need for public health efforts to decrease exposure to coal smoke.

Findings on the effects of weather on health, especially the effects of ambient temperature on overall morbidity, remain inconsistent. We conducted a time series study to examine the acute effects of meteorological factors (mainly air temperature) on daily hospital outpatient admissions for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Zunyi City, China, from January 1, 2007 to November 30, 2009. We used the generalized additive model with penalized splines to analyze hospital outpatient admissions, climatic parameters, and covariate data. Results show that, in Zunyi, air temperature was associated with hospital outpatient admission for CVD. When air temperature was less than 10°C, hospital outpatient admissions for CVD increased 1.07-fold with each increase of 1°C, and when air temperature was more than 10°C, an increase in air temperature by 1°C was associated with a 0.99-fold decrease in hospital outpatient admissions for CVD over the previous year. Our analyses provided statistically significant evidence that in China meteorological factors have adverse effects on the health of the general population. Further research with consistent methodology is needed to clarify the magnitude of these effects and to show which populations and individuals are vulnerable.

This paper presents a preliminary analysis of thermal anomalies before the Baja California M7.2 earthquake occurred on April 4, 2010. The results show that surface air temperature of the Mexicali station, which is the closest one to the epicenter, reaches its maximum value on March 30, which is also the maximum value from January 1 to April 10, 2010. Weather stations far away from the epicenter (100 km away) show no other thermal anomaly. In particular, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Final Operational Global Analysis (NCEP-FNL) air temperature data show a maximum temperature change between March 30 and 31 at the epicenter grid point, while the other surrounding 7199 grid points show medium to low temperature change. The microwave brightness temperature measured by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer on board the EOS Aqua satellite (AMSR-E) also shows an increase on March 31. The results of multiple thermal parameters analysis obey well the DTS criterions: deviation (D), time synchronism (T), and space consistency (S), so they can be considered as convincing seismic thermal anomalies. This analysis might contribute to make reliable earthquake predictions.

Este trabajo presenta un análisis preliminar de las anomalía térmicas observadas antes del terremoto de magnitud 7.2 ocurrido el 4 de abril de 2010 en Baja California. Los resultados muestran que la temperatura superficial del aire en la estación de Mexicali (la más cercana al epicentro) alcanza un valor máximo el 30 de marzo (que también es el máximo registrado entre el 1 de enero y el 4 de abril de 2010). Las estaciones meteorológicas lejanas al epicentro (distantes 100 km de éste) no muestran otra anomalía. En particular, los datos de temperatura del aire del Análisis Final de los Centros Nacionales de Predicción Ambiental (NCEP-FNA, por sus siglas en inglés) muestran un cambio máximo de temperatura entre el 30 y 31 de marzo en el punto de malla del epicentro, en tanto que los otros 7199 puntos de malla muestran cambios medianos a bajos. La temperatura de la brillantez medida por el radiómetro avanzado de barrido por microondas, acoplado al sistema de observación de la Tierra del satélite Aqua (AMSR-E, por sus siglas en inglés) también muestra un incremento el 31 de marzo. Los resultados del análisis térmico multiparamétrico cumplen de manera adecuada con los criterios DTS (desviación [D], sincronía temporal [T] y consistencia espacial [S]), de manera que pueden considerarse como anomalías térmicas sísmicas. Este análisis podría contribuir al pronóstico confiable de terremotos.