Weather and public health in Nottingham 1905-1926
Wilson, John
This study describes the effect of a significant improvement in public health "the change from pail closets to flushable water closets" in a large city in relation to warm or hot weather. Prior to 1916, most houses in Nottingham had pail closets for the removal of human waste. The paper shows that, during the period 1905 to 1916, there was a significant correlation between high summer temperatures and infant deaths from diarrhoea. After 1919, when flush water closets were installed in almost all homes, there was no such correlation. The paper also discusses the use of a modified form of degree-days as a tool in investigations of this kind. This article is based on a presentation to a meeting of the RMetS's History of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography Special Interest Group on 17 March 2012.
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