ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Mortality displacement

Mortality displacement is when something bad happens that causes people to die, but instead of all the people dying on the same day, the deaths are spread out over a longer period of time. It's kind of like a ripple effect: something happens that causes a bunch of people to die, but the effects of that event last for a while and more people continue to die because of it.

For example, let's say there's a really bad heat wave. During the heat wave, some people might die from heat stroke or other heat-related illnesses. But even after the heat wave is over, more people might continue to die from illnesses or conditions that were made worse by the extreme heat.

Mortality displacement can also happen after a natural disaster like a hurricane or earthquake. The initial event might cause some deaths, but there could be ongoing health problems or unsafe living conditions that cause more deaths over time.

Overall, mortality displacement means that although something bad might happen only once, the effects of it can last for a lot longer and cause more deaths than we might expect.