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37
[1898
disease was above the average of the preceding ten years, as the
following death-rates show:—
Average
10 years.
1898.
Increase.
England and Wales. 1.7 2.85 1.15
33 Great Towns 2 .5 3.85 1.35
67 other Large Towns 2.0 3.27 1.27
Rural England and Wales 1.0 2.07 1.7
Islington 1.5 2.76 1.26
There cannot be any doubt that the increased mortality was
chiefly due to the fact that the mean temperature which prevailed
was 2.9° above that of the preceding ten years, and 30° above that of
the preceding thirty years. Not indeed since 1884 (when the figures
were the same as those recorded in the past quarter) has there been so
high a temperature, nor so great a departure from the mean.
When a comparison is made between the temperatures which
prevailed and the deaths which occurred twelve months previously and
those now recorded the effect of heat is well seen. Thus during the
first four weeks of the quarter the mean weekly temperatures were
considerably below those which prevailed in 1897, and the deaths were
correspondingly less ; indeed they showed the large decrease of 22.
In the next two weeks similar conditions obtained, but in the following
week (the 7th of the quarter), the temperature suddenly rose so that
its mean for the week was 7.5° above that of 1897. To this greatly
increased temperature the diarrhoea sickness at once responded, as was
clearly shown by an increased mortality of 17 in the following week.
From this period to the end of the last week but one of the quarter the
temperatures were much above those of the corresponding periods of
1897, and on one occasion the heat was as much as 16.2° and on
another 11.8° in excess of that then registered. The result of this was
that the deaths during September numbered 154 compared with 17
in 1897.
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