Climate related diseases. Current regional variability and projections to the year 2100

The health of individuals and societies depends on different factors including atmospheric conditions which influence humans in direct and indirect ways. The paper presents regional variability of some climate related diseases (CRD) in Poland: salmonellosis intoxications, Lyme boreliosis, skin cancers (morbidity and mortality), influenza, overcooling deaths, as well as respiratory and circulatory mortality. The research consisted of two stages: 1) statistical modelling basing on past data and 2) projections of CRD for three SRES scenarios of climate change (A1B, A2, B1) to the year 2100. Several simple and multiply regression models were found for the relationships between climate variables and CRD. The models were applied to project future levels of CRD. At the end of 21st century we must expect increase in: circulatory mortality, Lyme boreliosis infections and skin cancer morbidity and mortality. There is also projected decrease in: respiratory mortality, overcooling deaths and influenza infections

BioKlima - seeking of new methods of urban bioclimate investigations

Badania bioklimatyczne stają się coraz bardziej popularne w badaniach klimatologii stosowanej, zwłaszcza obszarów zurbanizowanych. Jednak metody stosowane w tej dziedzinie badań są rozproszone w licznych podręcznikach. W opracowaniu przedstawiono nowe narzędzie badań bioklimatycznych - program BioKlima, który jest programem pracującym w środowisku DOS. Pozwala on na obliczenie ponad 30 różnych wskażników biometeorologicznych i termofizjologicznych, ale również jest "nauczycielem" wskazującym młodym badaczom drogę do poznania stosunków między człowiekiem a otoczeniem. W pracy można znaleźć ogólne zasady działania programu BioKlima, jak również kilka przykładów jego zastosowania.Bioclimatic studies became more and more popular in applied climatology research especially in urbanised areas. However the methods useful in this field of investigations are dispersed in numerous manuals. The paper presents new tool of bioclimatic research - BioKlima which is a software working in DOS environment. It not only calculates more then 30 different biometeorological and thermophysiological indices but also is a "teacher" leading in the new researchers into the knowledge of man-environment relationships. In the paper you will f ld general ideas of the BioKlima software as wen as some examples of its application

Principal features of Chornohora climate (Ukrainian Carpathians)

Chornohora is the highest mountain ridge in the Ukrainian Carpathians with 6 peaks of an altitude over 2,000 m above sea level (Hoverla is the highest peak, 2,061 m a.s.l). its climate is explored less than other mountain ridges in Europe. The massif is a climatic barrier for air masses on NW-SE line. To describe the climate of this area data from the weather station at Pozhyzhevska alpine meadow for the years 1961-2010 were used. The seasonal and long-term variability of air temperature, atmospheric precipitation and snow cover were investigated on the background of air circulation types. The results show that general features of Chornohora climate depend both, on elevation above sea level and on air circulation. Lowest temperature is observed at N-NE circulation and highest precipitation – at western air inflow. Long-term changes of examined climate elements in Chornohora show significant increase in mean (0.13°/10 years) and minimum (0.22°C/10 years) air temperature as well as in snow cover depth and number of snowy days

Assessment of urban thermal stress by UTCI – experimental and modelling studies: an example from Poland

The paper presents a new approach to the study of the spatial variability of heat stress in urban areas. The Universal Thermal Climate Index UTCI was applied for this purpose. The spatial variability of UTCI at the local scale was studied using examples of urban areas with different sizes and geographical locations. The experimental research on urban heat stress was conducted in Warsaw. The research covers both differences between UTCI in urban to rural areas as well as the variation of heat stress within small residential districts in Warsaw. We found a very large and significant heat stress gradient between downtown Warsaw and rural stations. Spatial variability of UTCI was also observed in microclimate research. A modelling approach was presented based on examples from Warsaw, a city with a population of almost 2 million, as well as examples from several spa towns with populations of up to 40,000 located in various parts of Poland. GIS analysis (ArcGIS for Desktop and IDRISI) was applied for this purpose

Seasonal and regional differences in lighting conditions and their influence on melatonin secretion

The paper presents essential results of multidisciplinary research dealing with differences in lighting conditions (natural and/or artificial) and their possible influence on melatonin secretion studied in Fukuoka (Japan) and in Warszawa (Poland). Several characteristics of lighting were considered (intensity of global 0.4-3.0 μm, visible 0.4 0.76 μm solar radiation, illuminance (lux), peak irradiance (μW∙cm−2∙nm−1), Color Corresponded Temperature (CCT, K) and peak wave length (nm)). Diurnal cycle of melatonin secretion was examined at volunteers (Poland – 15, Japan – 18), young male and female (21–33 years). Saliva samples were collected at 3h intervals, beginning at 10:00h on Thursday with subsequent sampling times at 13:00, 16:00, 19:00, 22:00 and at 01:00, 04:00 07:00h on Friday. Melatonin concentration (MC) was measured by commercials ELISA kit tests

Heat balance of the human body in the urban area (on the example of Supraśl)

Wyniki badań wykonanych na podstawie danych z 28 czerwca 1994 r. użyto w celu przedstawienia wpływu klimatu miejskiego małego miasta Supraśl (północno-wschodnia Polska) na wymianę ciepła z ciałem człowieka. Rozważano strukturę bilansu cieplnego, jak również saldo wymiany ciepła.The results of field investigations carried out on 28 June 1994, were used for the presentation of the influence of urban climate of the small town Supraśl (north-eastern Poland) on heat exchange on the human body. The structure of the heat balance as well as net heat storage were taken into consideration

Digital topoclimatic maps of Warsaw

Cyfrowe mapy topoklimatyczne Warszawy są efektem pierwszego etapu badań mającego na celu stworzenie bazy danych o środowisku fizyczno-geograficznym tej aglomeracji. Przy tworzeniu bazy danych zastosowano metody GIS. Wykonano mapy elementów meteorologicznych (temperatury powietrza, prędkości wiatru i całkowitego promieniowania słonecznego) oraz mapy zanieczyszczenia powietrza. Przy zastosowaniu modelu MENEX obliczono ilość ciepła zmagazynowanego przez organizm człowieka i promieniowania słonecznego pochłoniętego przez człowieka. W końcowym etapie wykonano syntetyczne mapy, np. obciążenia cieplnego człowieka, topoklimatyczną i biotopoklimatyczną.Digital topoclimatic maps of Warsaware the effect of the first step of the studies dealing with creation of the data base of physico-geographical environment of this agglomeration. GIS methods are used in this purpose. At present there were made basic maps of meteorological elements (air temperature, wind speed and global solar radiation) as well as air pollution maps. With the use of the MENEX model there were calculated maps of net heat storage of the human organism and solar radiation absorbed by man. Finally some synthetic maps were made e.g. heat load of man, topoclimatic and biotopoclimatic (which takes into account heat load of man and air pollution)

Warunki topoklimatyczne w rejonie Bydgoszczy na odcinku doliny Wisły, Brdy i Kanału Bydgoskiego

Paper gives an analysis of thermal and moisture conditions of the Brda and Vistula Valleys as well as of the Bydgoszcz Canal areas. The topoclimate of the region was investigated on the basis of local measurem ents carried out in July 2005. There were analized the differences in air temperature and relative humidity between local points and the base station located on the roof of the Institute of Geography UKW in the Bydgoszcz city. A great variability in air temperature and humidity was observed, because of the specific conditions of the Vistula and Brda Valleys and the Bydgoszcz Canal environments. The results show, that this region has good conditions for outdoor recreation in different kinds of weather conditions.Praca zawiera analizę warunków termiczno-wilgotnościowych obszaru dolin Brdy, Wisły i okolic Kanału Bydgoskiego. Topoklimat obszaru opracowano na podstawie pomiarów terenowych w lipcu 2005 roku. Na podstawie otrzymanych wyników  przeanalizowano od chylenia temperatury powietrza i wilgotności względnej między punktami terenowymi a stacją referencyjną, zlokalizowaną na dachu Instytutu Geografii UKW w Bydgoszczy. Zaobserwowano bardzo wyraźne zróżnicowanie temperatury i wilgotności powietrza, spowodowane specyficznymi właściwościami środowiska dolin Wisły i Brdy oraz Kanału Bydgoskiego. Otrzymane wyniki wskazują, iż badane obszary cechują się dogodnymi warunkami do korzystania z różnorodnych form wypoczynku podczas różnych warunków pogodowych

Influence of meteorological conditions on the morbidity of the Warsaw citizens

Istnieją dobrze znane zależnościpomiędzy zachorowalnościąi śmiertelnościąludzi a warunkami meteorologicznymi. Artykuł zawiera wyniki nowych badań nad związkami tych zmiennych. Badania oparto na dobowych sprawozdaniach lekarzy jednej z przychodni rejonowych w Warszawie. Wyszczególniono 21 jednostek chorobowych. Dane dobowe o liczbie zachorowań były porównywane z głównymi elementami meteorologicznymi. Zaobserwowano wyraźną sezonowość w występowaniu schorzeń układów krążenia i oddechowego. Wykazują one również związek z temperaturą powietrza, ciśnieniem atmosferycznym i saldem wymiany ciepła pomiędzy człowiekiem a otoczeniem.There are well known quality relationships between human morbidity and mortality and meteorological conditions. The paper presents the results of new studies dealing with qualitative relationships of those variables. The studies base on daily reports of physicians from the one of the clinic for outpatients in Warsaw. 21 individual diseases were noticed. Daily data of diseases amount were compared with meteorological parameters. There were observed seasonal differentiation of circulatory and respiratory diseases. They are also correlated with air temperature, air pressure and net heat storage (special biometeorological index)

Validation of the Fiala multi-node thermophysiological model for UTCI application

The important requirement that COST Action 730 demanded of the physiological model to be used for the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was its capability of accurate simulation of human thermophysiological responses across a wide range of relevant environmental conditions, such as conditions corresponding to the selection of all habitable climates and their seasonal changes, and transient conditions representing the temporal variation of outdoor conditions. In the first part of this study, available heat budget/two-node models and multi-node thermophysiological models were evaluated by direct comparison over a wide spectrum of climatic conditions. The UTCI-Fiala model predicted most reliably the average human thermal response, as shown by least deviations from physiologically plausible responses when compared to other models. In the second part of the study, this model was subjected to extensive validation using the results of human subject experiments for a range of relevant (steady-state and transient) environmental conditions. The UTCI-Fiala multi-node model proved its ability to predict adequately the human physiological response for a variety of moderate and extreme conditions represented in the COST 730 database. The mean skin and core temperatures were predicted with average root-mean-square deviations of 1.35 ± 1.00°C and 0.32 ± 0.20°C, respectivel