Human Bioclimatology Research Articles

MODERN ASPECTS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COURSE "METEOROLOGY AND CLIMATOLOGY" IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS OF STUDENTS IN THE DIRECTION OF PREPARATION 101 ECOLOGY

Modern meteorology is a very practical science necessary for social life. Most meteorologists model weather and climate forecasts, while others work for government and military organizations as well as private companies, providing forecasts for aviation, navigation, agriculture, construction, and radio and television broadcasting. In many countries, meteorology is often called "atmospheric physics", and ordinary meteorologists deal more with complex mathematical formulas and calculations that model physical and physico-chemical processes in the Earth's atmosphere. However, since the latter is closely related to all other envelopes, the work of meteorologists also has a distinct geographic element, since only geography needs to be taken into account for weather forecasting and modeling of atmospheric processes. In addition, the conditions of the atmosphere and the processes that take place in it differ in different parts of the globe due to geographic patterns (regions, altitude bands, etc.). Long-term weather conditions in a certain area are called climate. So, climatology is a science that studies such issues as climate formation, description and classification of the global climate, and the impact of human activity on the climate. By its nature, it is more closely related to other geographical disciplines.
 Modern research in the field of meteorology and climatology is at the center of mass media reports, as it sheds light on the future of our planet and life on it in light of actual and potential climate change. This is their mission today. they can only answer questions posed as elements of the system of geographic science.
 The article contains basic provisions on the environment, aspects of life in various regions, especially natural areas and objects subject to special protection. The work on environmental impact assessment is characterized. The article covers some issues of human bioclimatology, synrheological effects of individual meteorological variables and atmospheric factors and methods of assessing the complex impact of weather on the human body. The influence of climate warming on the health of the population and adaptation to climate change in Ukraine are mentioned.

Badania klimatu i bioklimatu miasta prowadzone w IGiPZ PAN

The climate and bioclimate of the city have been studied by the climatologists from IGSO PAS since the 1960s. Since the late 1990s, these studies have been based on the measurement network of thermal and humidity conditions in the Warsaw agglomeration. The number of measuring posts has been changed over the years, currently it consists of 27 posts. The main research issues are: temporal and spatial changes of urban heat island under the spatial development changes, methods of limiting the urban heat island and adaptation to it, the impact of biologically vital areas on local climate, forecasts for the urban heat island based on selected climate change models and scenarios of spatial development changes. A large number of studies by the IGSO PAS climatologists concern human bioclimatology, including the thermal sensation, the impact of heat waves and cold waves on morbidity and mortality, the role of greenery in the city (cooling, but also aggravating allergy). The main goal of this research is to determine the measures limiting the negative impact of the urban climate on people and to improve the quality of life in the city.

A quantitative sensitivity analysis on the behaviour of common thermal indices under hot and windy conditions in Doha, Qatar

Human thermal perception is best described through thermal indices. The most popular thermal indices applied in human bioclimatology are the perceived temperature (PT), the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), and the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET). They are analysed focusing on their sensitivity to single meteorological input parameters under the hot and windy meteorological conditions observed in Doha, Qatar. It can be noted, that the results for the three indices are distributed quite differently. Furthermore, they respond quite differently to modifications in the input conditions. All of them show particular limitations and shortcomings that have to be considered and discussed. While the results for PT are unevenly distributed, UTCI shows limitations concerning the input data accepted. PET seems to respond insufficiently to changes in vapour pressure. The indices should therefore be improved to be valid for several kinds of climates.

Issue on applied human bioclimatology in memory of Henrique Andrade

This issue of Finisterra is dedicated mostly to human bioclimatology and urbanclimatology, as these were the main research topics of our late colleague HenriqueAndrade, to whom this issue is dedicated. Furthermore, these topics are of currentinterest and can be of use for applied purposes.Henrique passed away last year (January 9th 2013) and a short note on his lifehas already been published in this Journal (Finisterra, XLVIII, 95:9-13, availableonline). He taught at the Geography Department of the Faculty of Letters of LisbonUniversity, from 1991 until 2008, and later at the newly founded Institute of Geographyand Spatial Planning (IGOT) at the same University. H. Andrade was member ofthe board of the Centre of Geographical Studies (CEG) and of the Executive Committeeof Finisterra from 2003 to 2006. He was deeply involved in research withinthe CliMA research group, at the Centre of Geographical Studies of the Universityof Lisbon. He also collaborated with several foreign colleagues, with whom he hadseveral ongoing research projects.

Análise comparativa sobre os estudos bioclimáticos no Brasil e em Portugal. Articulações e desafios

As diferenciações climáticas e a vulnerabilidade das populações em distintas dimensões espaço-temporais repercutem-se em situações diferenciadas de riscos socioambientais. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar os riscosclimáticos e os impactos na saúde nos territórios brasileiro e português, compreendendo as especificidades, as dinâmicas territoriais e as diferentes geografias que se verificam em ambos os países. Para isso, foram selecionadas pesquisas e estudos publicados sobre bioclimatologia humana em ambos os territórios e foram coletados dados da Organização Mundial da Saúde (Who). Esses dados foram tratados estatisticamente para a compreensão das diferenças no perfil de morbilidade das populações brasileira e portuguesa, associadas aos riscos climáticos. Verificou-se que as condições de vulnerabilidade socioambiental e de gestão dos fatores de risco oferecem capacidade de resiliência diferenciadas nos territórios. Neste contexto, a utilização da climatologia como instrumento para o planeamento e promoção da saúde é fundamental para diminuição dos impactos.

Bioclimatic indices based on the menex model example on Banja Luka

It has long been known that weather and climate have influence on human health and well-being. The human organism is in constant interaction with the environmental conditions. To access the atmospheric impact on humans, different methods in human bioclimatology are created. Most of them are based on human heat balance. In this paper it has been tried to present several bioclimatic indices based on the human heat balance according to the bioclimatic model menex (man-environment exchange). The aim of this paper is to present bioclimatic conditions in Banja Luka vicinage (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and to explore climate-recreation relationship. In the near vicinity of Banja Luka there are three spa centers that are favorable for recreation. For this analysis average available daily weather data for two extreme months (January and July, 1990) were used as well as the average monthly weather values for the period 1961-1990. The data were taken from Banja Luka weather station. As a result, several thermophisiological bioclimatic indices have been obtained. These are heat load in man, physiological strain, subjective temperature, subjective physiological temperature.

Use of the UTCI in the Czech Republic

The new Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was designed for use in the human bioclimatology and biometeorology field. This article describes a set of basic tests used to test the UTCI. These tests were made using real data from selected meteorological stations in the Czech Republic. Days with extreme temperatures and days with extremely windy conditions (extratropical cyclone known as ‘hurricane Kyrill’, January 18-19, 2007) were selected for the UTCI testing. The Universal Thermal Climate Index is different from other, more commonly used indices. A complete set of meteorological and radiation factors: air temperature, humidity, wind speed and mean radiation temperature were used using when testing the UTCI. Other indices were calculated using limited numbers of the following factors: air temperature and humidity (Heat Index), air temperature and wind speed (Wind Chill), and also air temperature, humidity and wind speed (NET). Testing of the UTCI was necessary before the possible application of this index in the national weather service of the Czech Republic (CHMI).

CLIMA, TROPICALIDADE E SAÚDE: UMA PERSPECTIVA A PARTIR DA INTENSIFICAÇÃO DO AQUECIMENTO GLOBAL.

A climatologia, através da bioclimatologia humana, constitui um campo deestudos de interesse da saúde pública. Este interesse torna-se mais importanteno atual contexto das mudanças climáticas globais, pois que a intensificaçãodo aquecimento climático planetário é um fato aceito pela maiorparte de cidadãos e cientistas de todo o mundo. Elas poderão causar consideráveisimpactos na saúde de parcelas importantes da humanidade, todaviaocorrerão de maneira bastante distinta na superfície da Terra. Na zonatropical as alterações serão bem menos expressivas que aquelas a se processaremnas médias e altas latitudes. Nos trópicos, acredita-se, as doençastransmissíveis e parasitárias encontrarão melhores condições para suaexpansão, sendo que constituirão um elevado risco ante à vulnerabilidadeda maioria da população. Doenças como a malaria e a dengue, dentre outras,poderão ter seus espaços ampliados em latitude e em altitude, envolvendoum numero bastante elevado de vitimados num futuro próximo.

Bioclimatologie humaine et conception de l'habitat

Human bioclimatology and habitat conception. The courtyard microclimatic function in Andalusian traditional houses. — In Andalusia, the two-storey house with inner courtyard (patio) is the traditional habitat, the courtyard making for ideal protection from the adverse thermical and hygrometrical conditions of the long summer season, without neecessarily having to resort to a large use of air-conditioning systems. So beneficial an effect is achieved by the courtyard, which defines the interior structure of the whole house.

Urban bioclimatology in developing countries.

A brief review of the literature on urban human bioclimatology in the tropics is undertaken. Attempts to chart human bioclimatic conditions on the regional/local scale have been made in several developing countries. The effective temperature scheme (with all its limitations) is the one that has been most frequently applied. The possibilities of application of bioclimatic models based on human heat balance for the tropical urban environment are discussed.

Selected questions of topical interest in human bioclimatology

This paper deals with the different effects of climate, and the likely impact of climatic change, on the human being, his health and well-being. Those effects follow from consideration of the human energy budget and air pollution, including photooxidants and radiation, the latter especially in the UV-range. The development of tools to produce bioclimate maps, i.e. maps expressed in physiologically significant terms, in different scales up to the high resolution necessary for the microscale urban climate, will be discussed. The most important questions in bioclimate research and its application will be considered.

地理学における生気候地域研究

Study of physical bioclimatology has a long history as BUETTNER (1962) as well as LANDSBERG (1972) pointed out. In the early days the term “Climate” sometimes meant bioclimatology as may be gathered from A. v. HUMBOLDT's statement (1845). Since then, human bioclimate has been studied in various sciences, for example, medical cience, human biology, sanitary science, applied meteorology, applied climatology and so on. Undoubtedly many results have been obtained in these sciences regarding bioclimatic studies; however, either study of regionality or regional structures of human bioclimatic characteristics have not been a subject of great interest.In geography or climageography, one of the most important traditional subjects is to classify climates and on the basis of such a system to divide climatic regions. However, to my regret, in the field of geography itself, the study of bioclimatic regions developed too late. Excepting TAYLOR'S famous work (1916), few research results were obtained before the 1930' regarding bioclimatic regions.It may be a remarkable fact that Section Geographie coloniale was set up on the occasion of the 15 th International Geographical Congress in Amsterdam in 1938, and several papers on acclimatization for the white race in the Tropics were presented. The study of acclimatization as well as human bioclimatology developed rapidly thereafter in the field of geography. It should be pointed out that the 15 th IGC was the turning point to develop the study of bioclimatology as well as human bioclimatic regions in the field of geography.As one of the key subjects, the study of sultry boundaries and climatic divisions on the basis of distribution of sultriness have been performed (MARNER, 1940; SCHARLAU, 1950, 1952; SCHULZE, 1956; HAVLIK, 1976; DOMROS, 1981; TILLEY, 1988 and so on). The sultry zones of the world (SCHARLAU, 1952) and vertical zonation of the bioclimatic structures, especially of the upper boundary of the distribution of sultriness in the mountainous regions in the Tropics and others may be one of the most remarkable results (SCHARLAU, 1952; Domras, 1981 and so on).Cooling power is also a very suggestive index regarding bioclimatic divisions. World maps of distribution of the Hill's cooling power in January and July performed by LAUSCHER (1951) may be one of the earliest results on bioclimatic regionality on the global scale.GREGORCZUK's work (1968) of world bioclimatic regions was performed on the basis of the distribution of air enthalpy grade which was introduced by BRAZOL (1954) as a scale of sensation of anthropological climates.Climatic systems by TERJUNG (1966, 1967, 1968) has been established on the basis of comfort indexes as well as wind effect indexes and bioclimatic divisions of the USA as well the world performed on the basis of his climatic systems should make it possible to clarfy regional structures of bioclimatic characteristics.One of the very interesting results is JUSATZ's work (1962) on the distribution of epidemic diseases as an effective index for bioclimatic classification, and his consideration of the relationship between spinal meningitis and the harmattan in Central Africa should be a representative result obtained in the field of not only medical geography but also bioclimatology.Research on the requirement of clothing as a index of human bioclimates and establishment of bioclimatic regions of the world has broken new ground in the study of bioclimatic regions (LANDSBERG, 1954; LEE et al., 1949; ALCIEMS et al., 1976, 1979, 1981, and so on).In the present paper the author comments mainly on studies of bioclimatic regions on a global scale. However, it should be of utmost importance to develop studies of bioclimatic regions on meso- as well as on microclimatic scales. DAMMANN's work (1958, 1964) should be a good example.

Bioclimatologie humaine et limite du domaine méditerranéen dans le Midi de la France. Réflexions sur la notion de limite climatique

The study of the boundary between mediterranean and mid-temperate climates can be approached from several points of view. The present paper attempts to identify this boundary in the perspective of human bioclimatology. The case of Southern France is presented showing a core mediterranean climate, that occupies a limited area, and a few submediterranean variants, that meet one or two but not all three of the warm-temperate qualifications. Finally, according to places, the bioclimatic limits are interpreted either as sharp discontinuities or as stripes with strong horizontal gradients or again as transition zones (in the sectors submitted to confronting and alternating, damped and degraded mediterranean and mid-temperate influences) .

General Climatology 3

General Climatology 3 is volume 3 of the series World Survey of Climatology, which consists of 15 volumes containing review articles on a broad range of topics. General Climatology 3 contains four chapters: ‘Human Bioclimatology,’ ‘Agricultural Climatology,’ ‘City Climate,’ and ‘Technical Climatology.’ Each of these chapters will be briefly described here.‘Human Bioclimatology,’ the first chapter, was authored by E. Flach and provides a survey of the effects on the human organism of the physical conditions at the earth's surface. It contains four main sections. A section entitled ‘Light and Life’ deals with the effects of solar radiation on man and contains much interesting information on the response of the human eye and human skin to radiation at various frequencies. ‘Air and Life’ discusses the composition of air and its effect on human health and performance, including discussions of the effects of altitude, aerosols, and noxious trace gases. ‘Temperature and Life’ discusses how the body responds to temperature and how it maintains its heat budget under the variety of conditions to which it falls subject and considerable discussion is given to objective ways to characterize air conditions that give an accurate measure of their impact on the body. This discussion leads naturally into the final section, ‘Bioclimatological Evaluation Systems,’ which addresses the problem of how to classify a particular site according to its overall suitability to human habitation.