Enhanced future changes in wet and dry extremes over Africa at convection-permitting scale

African society is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The representation of convection in climate models has so far restricted our ability to accurately simulate African weather extremes, limiting climate change predictions. Here we show results from climate change experiments with a convection-permitting (4.5 km grid-spacing) model, for the first time over an Africa-wide domain (CP4A). The model realistically captures hourly rainfall characteristics, unlike coarser resolution models. CP4A shows greater future increases in extreme 3-hourly precipitation compared to a convection-parameterised 25 km model (R25). CP4A also shows future increases in dry spell length during the wet season over western and central Africa, weaker or not apparent in R25. These differences relate to the more realistic representation of convection in CP4A, and its response to increasing atmospheric moisture and stability. We conclude that, with the more accurate representation of convection, projected changes in both wet and dry extremes over Africa may be more severe

The short-term health and psychosocial impacts of domestic energy efficiency investments in low-income areas: a controlled before and after study

Background Research suggests that living in fuel poverty and cold homes contributes to poor physical and mental health, and that interventions targeted at those living in poor quality housing may lead to health improvements. However, little is known about the socio-economic intermediaries and processes that contribute to better health. This study examined the relationship between energy efficiency investments to homes in low-income areas and mental and physical health of residents, as well as a number of psychosocial outcomes likely to be part of the complex relationship between energy efficiency measures and health outcomes. Methods A quasi-experimental field study with a controlled pretest-posttest design was conducted (intervention n = 364; control n = 418) to investigate the short-term health and psychosocial impacts of a domestic energy efficiency programme that took place across Wales between 2013 and 2015. Survey data were collected in the winters before and after installation of energy efficiency measures, including external wall insulation. The study used a multilevel modelling repeated measures approach to analyse the data. Results The energy efficiency programme was not associated with improvements in physical and mental health (using the SF-12v2 physical and mental health composite scales) or reductions in self-reported respiratory and asthma symptoms. However, the programme was associated with improved subjective wellbeing (B = 0.38, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.65), as well as improvements in a number of psychosocial outcomes, including increased thermal satisfaction (OR = 3.83, 95% CI 2.40 to 5.90), reduced reports of putting up with feeling cold to save heating costs (OR = 0.49, CI = 0.25 to 0.94), fewer financial difficulties (B = −0.15, 95% CI -0.25 to -0.05), and reduced social isolation (OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.77). Conclusion The study showed that investing in energy efficiency in low-income communities does not lead to self-reported health improvements in the short term. However, investments increased subjective wellbeing and were linked to a number of psychosocial intermediaries that are conducive to better health. It is likely that better living conditions contribute to improvements in health outcomes in the longer term. Better understanding of the impacts on recipients of energy efficiency schemes, could improve targeting of future fuel poverty policies

Integrated Assessments and Energy Retrofit: The Contribution of the Energy Center Lab of the Politecnico di Torino

Traditionally, local energy planning has been carried out following a sectorial approach, neglecting the long-term effects of energy policies, not considering social and environmental elements and omitting important actors involved. More innovative approaches lead to consider evaluation models able to take into account the full range of impacts generated at the level of utilities, end-users and society in general. This chapter aims to provide a reflection on the role of assessment tools in decision-making processes related to energy retrofit operations at architectural and urban level, presenting a series of recent and innovative experiments developed in the joined research group of the Energy Center Lab at Politecnico di Torino (Italy). Different techniques were applied to real case studies to provide an answer to concrete evaluation problems in the energy field. The results of the various applications show that the proposed valuation techniques offer useful tools to support local energy planning processes according to integrated energy- economic models

Drought risk management using satellite-based rainfall estimates

In this chapter, we present an overview of the role of satellite-based rainfall estimates (SREs) in drought risk management applications, ranging from simple anomaly and index-based approaches to cross-cutting drought early warning systems (EWS) and financial instruments such as weather index-based insurance (WII) schemes. We contend that meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, and socioeconomic are aspects – not types – of drought, and a universally acceptable drought definition is not a prerequisite for the effective and efficient assessment of the impacts of drought using SREs and other satellite-based datasets and/or models. This is illustrated through examples from the work of the co-authors, as well as the wider community. The chapter concludes with a synthesis of the challenges for SREs and the current trends in the development and application of SREs in drought risk management, including an outlook of the priorities for future research and applications