Selected examples of bioclimatic analysis applying the physiologically equivalent temperature in Hungary

Összefoglalás : Cikkünkben bioklimatológiai elemzést végzünk az ún. Fiziológiailag Equivalens Hőmérséklet (PET) index felhasználásával először Magyarország egész területén (1 km-es felbontású bioklíma térkép segítségével). A bioklíma térképek a PET index térbeli eloszlását mutatják Magyarországon egy téli (február) és egy nyári (augusztus) hónapban. Majd két szinoptikai állomás (Szombathely és Sopron) 1996 és 1999 között rögzített adataiból számított PET értékek alapján részletes elemzésben hasonlítjuk össze a két város főbb bioklimatológiai jellegzetességeit. Summary : In this study, maps were created that show the geographical distribution of Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) values in February and August for the area of Hungary, with a resolution of 1 km. For the further analysis of the thermal bioclimate, data of the synoptical stations of Szombathely and Sopron, recorded from 1996 to 1999, has been used. This study provides a detailed analysis and comparison of the bioclimatic properties of these locations

Pilot actions in European cities - Stuttgart

The field of urban climatology has a long tradition in Stuttgart. It exists as discipline in Stuttgart since 1938. Stuttgart was the first city to establish its own Department of Climatology to research ways of improving the flow of fresh air into the city and to reduce thermal stress in most populated city districts. The specialist department of Urban Climatology, within the Environmental Protection Office, deals with tasks relating to environmental meteorology within the scope of air pollution control and also relating to urban and global climate protection. So in Stuttgart the urban heat island phenomenon (UHI) is studied for several decades, leading to a high level understanding of the UHI and the problems which it causes. The UHI causes an increase in air temperatures and thermal stress, that are identified as most negative impacts on human health and urban living. In the view of global climate change and the predicted temperature rise for the Stuttgart region of 1.5–2 K in this century, the negative impacts of UHI on human health and urban living will become more problematic in the future. According to the results of climate models the frequency of very hot days is expected to jump by nearly 30 % at the end of the century. The rising temperatures due to the global climate change in combination with the temperature shift as a result of the UHI will intensify the heat stress in urban areas, that leads to a significant increasing risk to human health, in particular to the very young and elderly. Not least due its importance for the human health and the quality of urban life in Stuttgart, the UHI is focussed by urban planners and is noticed by the future development of the city. Within the pilot action study in Stuttgart several measure for reducing the UHI and the impacts on urban living and human health are analysed by the use of micro-scale and macro-scale simulations. With the help of these analysis realisable measure are selected. The most useful measures are implemented into a developmoutline plan for the redevelopment of the city district Stuttgart-West by the municipal urban planners

Planning with urban climate in different climatic zones

The main climatic changes induced by settlements are discussed first, in order to introduce the main objectives of this paper: to show the importance of urban climate information for planning and to emphasize that adequate measures “to plan and to build with climate”vary according to the macroclimate of the urban area. The urban radiation and energy balances, heat islands, wind conditions, air pollution and thermal comfort are dealt with in detail. Studies of the last decades that consider the economic and health benefits of using climatic information are also reviewed., Urban climates should be a routine consideration of land use planning processes in order to attain a better “climatequality” in settlements. We suggest measures that can reduce the negative effects or take advantage of the positive consequences of urbanizationon climate in different climate zones (cold, warm and humid, warmand arid, contrasting seasons’ climate).Resumen: Se discuten primero los principales cambios climáticos inducidospor los asentamientos, con el fin de establecer los principales objetivosde este trabajo: mostrar la importancia de la información climáticapara la planificación urbana y hacer hincapié en que las medidas adecuadas“para planificar y construir con el clima” varían de acuerdo conel clima del área donde está localizada la ciudad. Los balances de radiacióny energía urbanos, la isla de calor, las condiciones del viento, lacontaminación del aire y el confort térmico se tratan en detalle. Tambiénson revisados los estudios de las últimas décadas que consideran losbeneficios económicos y para la salud de la utilización de informaciónclimática. La consideración del clima urbano debe formar parte de losprocesos de ordenamiento territorial para lograr una mejor “calidad delclima” en los asentamientos. Se proponen también medidas que puedenreducir los efectos negativos o aprovechar las ventajas de urbanizar unazona basándose en su clima (frío, cálido y húmedo, cálido y árido, contrastesestacionales del clima)

Review of Biometeorology of Heatwaves and Warm Extremes in Europe

Numerous extreme heatwaves producing large impacts on human health, agriculture, water resources, energy demand, regional economies, and forest ecosystems occurred during the first twenty years of the 21st century. The present study strives to provide a systematic review of recent studies of warm biometeorological extremes in Europe. The main aim of this paper is to provide a methodical summary of the observed changes in warm extremes, duration, and variability in different parts of Europe. During the last decade, much attention has been paid to the negative impacts of heat and humidity on human health. Therefore, the human biometeorology is required to appraise the human thermal environment in a way that human thermoregulation is taken into account. In many European countries and regions, future heat exposure will indeed exceed critical levels, and a steep increase in biometeorological heatwaves and warm extremes are expected. The indices that take into account human energy balance along with weather conditions should be used to examine the impacts of extreme heatwaves on human health and should be used as a basis for the determination of acclimatization to high-heat-stress conditions. A detailed description of recent studies that have used biometeorological indices such as Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) for the estimation of warm extremes and their influence on human health is provided. Additionally, a short overview of the existence of the heat-health warning systems (HHWS), their conceptualization, and implementation across the European continent is considered, as well as the possibilities for further investigations and implementation of effective measures and programs that could reduce the adverse health impacts

THERMAL COMFORT TRENDS AND VARIABILITY IN THE CROATIAN AND SLOVENIAN MOUNTAINS

Mountain meteorological stations played an extremely important role in weather forecasting in the past because they were the only available data source on meteorological conditions several hundred metres above the sea level. Nowadays they are mainly used to estimate the climatic variations and the climate change trends in the environment that is not under the direct influence of the local anthropogenic factors. Two mountain meteorological observatories were chosen to illustrate climatic and bioclimatic trends and variability, Zavižan in Croatian Dinaric Alps and Kredarica in Slovenian Julian Alps. Both have the same monitoring protocol and similar instruments. Because of their unchanged surrounding since time of establishment the data from both observatories are extremely valuable for studying changes in sensitive mountain ecosystems in both countries. Data from the period 1955-2004 were used to assess mountain climatic and bioclimatic variability and trends in Croatia and Slovenia. Results point at the significant increase in the thermal bioclimate index (PET) based on the human energy balance models. At both sites the increase is mainly caused by temperature changes

How does radial growth of water-stressed populations of european beech (Fagus sylvatica l.) trees vary under multiple drought events?

European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) trees are becoming vulnerable to drought, with a warming climate. Existing studies disagree on how radial growth varies in European beech in response to droughts. We aimed to find the impact of multiple droughts on beech trees’ annual radial growth at their ecological drought limit created by soil water availability in the forest. Besides, we quantified the influence of competition and canopy openness on the mean basal area growth of beech trees. We carried out this study in five near-natural temperate forests in three localities of Germany and Switzerland. We quantified available soil water storage capacity (AWC) in plots laid in the transition zone from oak to beech dominated forests. The plots were classified as ‘dry’ (AWC 60 mL). We performed dendroecological analyses starting from 1951 in continuous and discontinuous series to study the influence of climatic drought (i.e., precipitation-potential evapotranspiration) on the radial growth of beech trees in dry and less-dry plots. We used observed values for this analysis and did not use interpolated values from interpolated historical records in this study. We selected six drought events to study the resistance, recovery, and resilience of beech trees to drought at a discontinuous level. The radial growth was significantly higher in less-dry plots than dry plots. The increase in drought had reduced tree growth. Frequent climatic drought events resulted in more significant correlations, hence, increased the dependency of tree growth on AWC. We showed that the recovery and resilience to climatic drought were higher in trees in less-dry plots than dry plots, but it was the opposite for resistance. The resistance, recovery, and resilience of the trees were heterogeneous between the events of drought. Mean growth of beech trees (basal area increment) were negatively impacted by neighborhood competition and positively influenced by canopy openness. We emphasized that beech trees growing on soil with low AWC are at higher risk of growth decline. We concluded that changes in soil water conditions even at the microsite level could influence beech trees’ growth in their drought limit under the changing climate. Along with drought, neighborhood competition and lack of light can also reduce beech trees’ growth. This study will enrich the state of knowledge about the ongoing debate on the vulnerability of beech trees to drought in Europe

THERMAL BIOCLIMATE CONDITIONS IN THE ALPINE REGIONS OF AUSTRIA

Data of 46 climate stations located from 1000 m to 3105 m a.s.l. were used to describe the thermal human bioclimate conditions in the alpine regions of Austria. Austria possesses a dense network of climate stations with daily measurements and observations of air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity and mean cloud cover at 7, 14 and 19 LMT . To show the special climate conditions in alpine regions the behaviour of this parameters in relationship to the human energy balance is used to give a description of the effect of the thermal environment on humans. The importance of topography leading to inversions during the cold seasons and clothing resistance to modify the individual thermal bioclimate will be shown exemplarily

Visualization of Climate Factors for Sports Events and Activities–The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Detailed climate information in an easily interpretable form is demanded by the general public, as well as by decision-makers on different planning levels. One example is the group of planners in the field of sports and tourism. A promising approach is the visualization of climate thresholds in a Climate-Tourism/Transfer-Information Scheme (CTIS) for the prevailing local climate conditions. The presented approach is adaptable to specific destinations and target activities and integrates meteorological, as well as recreational, touristic and specific activity-related parameters and thresholds. All parameters are simplified in terms of factors and combined in one individual graph, the CTIS diagram. The detailed information on local climate can be applied by non-experts like tourists intending to attend a sports event. They are able to prepare for different aspects of the local climate by, e.g., selecting appropriate clothing when planning their stay. The example of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is presented and discussed. Results show that heat stress together with sultriness is likely to occur during the scheduled time of the Olympics, while cold stress will most probably not be relevant