What Populations in New York City Are Most Impacted During Cold Weather?

Extreme cold temperatures are associated with detrimental health effects, especially in urban areas where there are large and diverse concentrations of vulnerable populations. There are several factors that make it difficult to determine the exact nature of the relationship between extreme cold and human health. However, past studies have identified that older individuals, low-income individuals, and non-Hispanic black individuals are vulnerable populations that are disproportionally affected by cold weather. Improving understanding of the populations impacted most by the extreme cold will inform health services where to focus efforts and is essential to improving public health. To gain insight into the spatial variation of cold temperature impacts in New York City (NYC), Emergency Management Services (EMS) calls related to cold-affected causes and surface weather observations during cold seasons (November through March) from January 2005 to March 2022 were examined. With the exception of March 2020 (the COVID-19 pandemic), daily call volume increased as daily mean wind chill temperature (WCT) decreased. Mean daily call volumes on the days with the coldest 2% of WCTs were examined both visually and quantitatively. South and Central Bronx, Northeast Brooklyn, Southern Manhattan, and Northeast Staten Island experienced high call volume relative to their populations. Statistically significant relationships were found where increasing EMS call volume corresponded to an increase in the proportion of low-income populations, black (Hispanic and non-Hispanic) populations, and Hispanic or Latino populations during extreme WCT conditions.