Review Special Issue: Human Biometeorology—Link to Climate Impact Research

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Biometeorology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2021) | Viewed by 8334

Special Issue Editors

Laboratory of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment, Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, School of Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, GR 15784 Athens, Greece
Interests: climate variability and climate change; human biometeorology; climate and weather extremes; hydrometeorological phenomena; atmospheric circulation patterns; environmental impacts on health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Geography, Man and Environment, Beit Berl Academic College, Beit Berl 4490500, Israel
Interests: biometeorology; applied climatology; urban climatology; environmental and climate planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Interests: outdoor thermal comfort; urban heat island; human biometeorology
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Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Bilkent University, Bilkent 06800, Ankara, Turkey
Interests: climate change; urban planning; urban sustainability; meteorology; urban design; extreme heat; public space design; microclimates; human thermo-physiological factors; bottom-up adaptation
1 "Henri Coandă" Air Force Academy, 500183 Brașov, Romania
2 National Meteorological Administration, 013686 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: urban climate; climate change and climate risks; biometeorology; historical meteorology
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1. Environmental Meteorology, University of Freiburg, D-79085 Freiburg, Germany
2. Research Centre Human Biometeorology, Deutscher Wetterdienst, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
Interests: human biometeorology; urban bioclimatology; climate and tourism; climate impact research
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human biometeorology has thus far demonstrated a rapid expansion and development with the use of personal computers and new techniques such as GIS. Previously, before the 1970s, simple and linear approaches were utilized to quantify the effect of weather and climate on both the human body and health standards. Since then, new and wholesome approaches defined by the needs and requirements in the quantification of the effect of the atmosphere upon humans have been developed. Such developments have encompassed exploration into numerous vital factors, including thermal conditions, actinic effects, and air pollution influences. Pertinent to these factors has been the intrinsic relationship with issues such as biological particles and other adjacent effects where the atmosphere leads to positive and negative effects upon the human biometeorological system. Furthermore, a particular emphasis has been placed on urban contexts and how thermophysiological stress can be attenuated through the provision of thermal responsive elements/environments to ensure the existing and future quality of life in these spaces. Such future considerations shall unequivocally be associated to the expected impacts of climate change throughout the unravelling of the twenty-first century. This has resulted in new approaches that include the provision of early warning systems that shall play a fundamental role in short- and long-term strategies associated to both mitigation and adaptation efforts. In addition, new statistical methods and tools have catalyzed the development of data-processing capabilities, thus permitting simulations to examine existing climatic conditions and their expected aggravations as a result of climate change.

This Special Issue intends to identify, examine, and structure such developments by instigating detailed reviews into the relationships between human wellbeing and encircling urban climatic conditions. Moreover, a specific emphasis shall be placed on the associated influences of: (i) urban heat island effects; (ii) concrete modifications of the urban climate; (iii) progression and necessity of early warning systems; (iv) climatic effects upon general human health and specific thermal comfort standards; (v) the attenuation of such climatic effects resultant of thermal responsive measures and action; (vi) air pollution and its integral assessment possibilities upon human health as a result of atmospheric conditions; (vii) impacts, relationships, and statistical analysis between atmospheric conditions and mortality/morbidity rates; (viii) extreme climatic events upon human health conditions; (ix) micro and meso scales and their role in approaching human thermal comfort thresholds; (x) interdisciplinary applications of human biometeorology upon subjects such as urban design, urban planning, architecture, and landscape architecture; and, finally, (xi) GIS and its application given the continual arrival of new statistical methods, including artificial intelligence and tools in human biometeorology.

Prof. Dr. Panagiotis Nastos
Prof. Dr. Oded Potchter
Prof. Dr. Tzu-Ping Lin
Dr. Andre Nouri
Prof. Dr. Sorin Cheval
Prof. Dr. Andreas Matzarakis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Heat stress
  • Warning systems
  • Urban bioclimate
  • ‘Green’ and ‘blue’ measures
  • Climate change
  • Models and tools
  • Assessment and quantification methods
  • Human Health
  • Climate impact research
  • Climate mitigation and adaptation
  • Thermal indices
  • Indoor and outdoor thermal comfort
  • Big data and smart techniques in human biometeorology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 1449 KiB  
Communication
A Note on the Assessment of the Effect of Atmospheric Factors and Components on Humans
by Andreas Matzarakis
Atmosphere 2020, 11(12), 1283; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11121283 - 28 Nov 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2113
Abstract
The aim of this contribution is both to demonstrate and to explore the general assessment pertaining to the effects of atmospheric factors on human health and general wellbeing. While humans are aware of such effects, particularly individually, their concrete and synergetic effects with [...] Read more.
The aim of this contribution is both to demonstrate and to explore the general assessment pertaining to the effects of atmospheric factors on human health and general wellbeing. While humans are aware of such effects, particularly individually, their concrete and synergetic effects with the human physiological system are, comparatively, not well comprehended. In human biometeorological studies and approaches, the aforementioned effects are analyzed in terms of their effect pathways, and the development of single or complex approaches. Recurrently in the existing literature, such approaches are mostly defined and, respectively, targeted as indexes. The evaluation and assessment of similar factors and parameters that present related effects were subsequently put together and quantified. This approach is described as ‘effective complexes’ or components. The most well-known examples are the thermal complex, air pollution complex (which can be divided into the biological (pollen) and anthropogenic (air pollutants) factors), actinic complex, and finally, the recent or rapid weather changes complex. Most of the approaches focus on the negative effects consequential to the established criteria ranging from empirical outputs, to epidemiological studies. As a result, the presented approach does not only include the negative effects or implications on humans. Instead, it also highlights the neutral and positive effects which were acknowledged by the research. The approach deals furthermore with the combined effects of different complexes or components and incorporates different weightings of the factors based on the disclosed effects. In addition, seasonal and exposure factors are deliberated upon to differentiate annual variability factors. Finally, the presented approach builds upon a way in which to cogitate how the complex interactions associated to weather and climate can be quantified in a more appropriate way in the context of human health. The approach aims to be applied for a specific weather forecast enabling the communication and balance between human health factors, and also more encompassing climatic analysis. Full article
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Review

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21 pages, 2855 KiB  
Review
Review of Biometeorology of Heatwaves and Warm Extremes in Europe
by Biljana Basarin, Tin Lukić and Andreas Matzarakis
Atmosphere 2020, 11(12), 1276; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11121276 - 26 Nov 2020
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5011
Abstract
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 [...] Read more.
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. Full article
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