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Since the first issue of the International Journal of Biometeorology in 1957, a total of 135 papers have reported on research in or of African countries. The majority of these have been on topics of animal biometeorology (36%), and the greatest proportion (24%) are situated in Nigeria. There has been a considerable increase in papers on African biometeorology since 2011, with those from this past decade accounting for 58% of all African papers in the journal. This occurs concurrent to an increase in the total number of papers published in the journal, driven by a move to the Editorial Manager system. While 66% of the papers on African biometeorology in the journal are authored by at least one person with an affiliation in the African continent, only 15 African countries are represented in the total authorship. As much of the African continent is projected to experience climatic changes exceeding the global mean, as much of the region is involved in animal and plant farming, and as seasonally-fluctuating and climatically affected diseases are common place, this low representation of work in Africa is surprising. This points to the need for greater awareness among African researchers of the discipline of biometeorology, greater involvement of African biometeorologists in International Society of Biometeorology and Commission meetings, and the inclusion of a greater number of African academics in the review process. This would be beneficial to the Society in increasing diversity and encouraging a more cosmopolitan engagement, and to the recognition of scientific development in African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number and diversity of phenological studies has increased rapidly in recent years. Innovative experiments, field studies, citizen science projects, and analyses of newly available historical data are contributing insights that advance our understanding of ecological and evolutionary responses to the environment, particularly climate change. However, many phenological data sets have peculiarities that are not immediately obvious and can lead to mistakes in analyses and interpretation of results. This paper aims to help researchers, especially those new to the field of phenology, understand challenges and practices that are crucial for effective studies. For example, researchers may fail to account for sampling biases in phenological data, struggle to choose or design a volunteer data collection strategy that adequately fits their project's needs, or combine data sets in inappropriate ways. We describe ten best practices for designing studies of plant and animal phenology, evaluating data quality, and analyzing data. Practices include accounting for common biases in data, using effective citizen or community science methods, and employing appropriate data when investigating phenological mismatches. We present these best practices to help researchers entering the field take full advantage of the wealth of available data and approaches to advance our understanding of phenology and its implications for ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Documenting trends in the health impacts of ambient temperature is key to supporting adaptation strategies to climate change. This paper explores changes in the temperature-related mortality in 18 French urban centers between 1970 and 2015. Method: A multicentric time-series design with time-varying distributed lag nonlinear models was adopted to model the shape of the relationship and assess temporal changes in risks and impacts. Results: The general shape of the temperature-mortality relationship did not change over time, except for an increasing risk at very low percentiles and a decreasing risk at very high percentiles. The relative risk at the 99.9th percentile compared to the 50th percentile of the 1970–2015 temperature distribution decreased from 2.33 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.95:2.79] in 1975 to 1.33 [95% CI: 1.14:1.55] in 2015. Between 1970 and 2015, 302,456 [95% CI: 292,723:311,392] deaths were attributable to non-optimal temperatures, corresponding to 5.5% [95% CI: 5.3:5.6] of total mortality. This burden decreased progressively, representing 7.2% [95% CI: 6.7:7.7] of total mortality in the 1970s to 3.4% [95% CI: 3.2:3.6] in the 2000s. However, the contribution of hot temperatures to this burden (higher than the 90th percentile) increased. Discussion: Despite the decreasing relative risk, the fraction of mortality attributable to extreme heat increased between 1970 and 2015, thus highlighting the need for proactive adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical inland capture fisheries are susceptible to a series of vulnerabilities such as habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, pollution, overfishing, invasive species and anthropogenic climate change. A comprehensive review of the impact of climatic uncertainties on Indian inland fisheries has not been adequately attempted yet. Recent approaches emphasizing ecosystem-based management in a regional context, specific to inland fisheries for combating climatic changes, have not been reported to date. The paper presents a critical bibliometric review of the climatic vulnerabilities faced by Indian inland fishery resources and various adaptive and mitigation strategies put forward by the country for the sustainability of the resources. In this communication, a systematic review of the impact of climate change and other stressors on various inland ecosystems of the subcontinent and the ecosystem-based management strategies adopted in India is presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to global climate change, droughts are likely to become more frequent and more severe in many regions such as in South Africa. In Limpopo, observed high climate variability and projected future climate change will likely increase future maize production risks. This paper evaluates drought patterns in Limpopo at two representative sites. We studied how drought patterns are projected to change under future climatic conditions as an important step in identifying adaptation measures (e.g., breeding maize ideotypes resilient to future conditions). Thirty-year time horizons were analyzed, considering three emission scenarios and five global climate models. We applied the WOFOST crop model to simulate maize crop growth and yield formation over South Africa's summer season. We considered three different crop emergence dates. Drought indices indicated that mainly in the scenario SSP5-8.5 (2051–2080), Univen and Syferkuil will experience worsened drought conditions (DC) in the future. Maize yield tends to decline and future changes in the emergence date seem to impact yield significantly. A possible alternative is to delay sowing date to November or December to reduce the potential yield losses. The grain filling period tends to decrease in the future, and a decrease in the duration of the growth cycle is very likely. Combinations of changed sowing time with more drought tolerant maize cultivars having a longer post-anthesis phase will likely reduce the potential negative impact of climate change on maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, air conditioning (AC) is the most effective means for the cooling of indoor space. However, its increased global use is problematic for various reasons. This paper explores the challenges linked to increased AC use and discusses more sustainable alternatives. A literature review was conducted applying a transdisciplinary approach. It was further complemented by examples from cities in hot climates. To analyse the findings, an analytical framework was developed which considers four societal levels—individual, community, city, and national. The main challenges identified from the literature review are as follows: environmental, organisational, socio-economical, biophysical and behavioural. The paper also identifies several measures that could be taken to reduce the fast growth of AC use. However, due to the complex nature of the problem, there is no single solution to provide sustainable cooling. Alternative solutions were categorised in three broad categories: climate-sensitive urban planning and building design, alternative cooling technologies, and climate-sensitive attitudes and behaviour. The main findings concern the problems arising from leaving the responsibility to come up with cooling solutions entirely to the individual, and how different societal levels can work towards more sustainable cooling options. It is concluded that there is a need for a more holistic view both when it comes to combining various solutions as well as involving various levels in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land cover change (LCC) significantly changed the local/regional temperature. This paper attempts to reveal the effects of cropland expansion in different ways on temperature change from the 1900s to 2010s in Heilongjiang Province. To reach this goal, we conducted four simulation research schemes with the coupled Weather Research and Forecast (WRF)-Noah model to investigate the warming/cooling effect of cropland expansion. The results show that cropland expansion exerted different effects with different land-use type conversions. In the last century, the areas with grassland-to-cropland and wetland-to-cropland transition show the warming effect, and the average surface temperature in Heilongjiang Province increased by 0.023 ℃ and 0.024 ℃, respectively. The areas with forest-to-cropland transition show the cooling effect, in which the average temperature decreased by 0.103 ℃. The variation of air temperature is mainly caused by the variation of surface reflectance and surface net radiation flux. The results provide evidence that cropland expansion changes to biophysical landscape characteristics, warming/cooling the land surface and thus enhancing/reducing the temperature, and lead to regional climate change eventually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analysis of adaptation to extreme climate changes using the Australian animal husbandry data. The paper finds that farmers have adapted to a hot and arid climate regime through animal husbandry. The number of sheep vastly increases into arid ecosystems while the number of beef cattle does not decline in high temperatures. In the future climate system in which Australia becomes hotter and more arid, we predict that farmers will increase by large percentages the numbers of beef cattle and/or sheep owned in order to adapt to a highly unfavorable climate condition, especially into the arid ecosystems. This paper shows how humanity has adapted to climate extremes taking into account changing ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under-five years old acute watery diarrhea (U5AWD) accounts for most diarrheal diseases' burden, but little is known about the adjusted effect of meteorological and socioeconomic determinants. A dataset containing the seasonal numbers of U5AWD cases at the district level of Iran is collected through MOHME. Accordingly, the district-level standardized incidence ratio and Moran's I values are calculated to detect the significant clusters of U5AWD over sixteen seasons from 2014 to 2018. Additionally, the author tested twelve Bayesian hierarchical models in order to determine which one was the most accurate at forecasting seasonal number of incidents. Iran features a number of U5AWD hotspots, particularly in the southeast. An extended spatiotemporal model with seasonally varying coefficients and space–time interaction outperformed other models, and so became the paper's proposal in modeling U5AWD. Temperature demonstrated a global positive connection with seasonal U5AWD in districts (IRR: 1.0497; 95% CrI: 1.0254–1.0748), owing to its varying effects during the winter ((IRR: 1.0877; 95% CrI: 1.0408–1.1375) and fall (IRR: 1.0866; 95% CrI: 1.0405–1.1357) seasons. Also, elevation (IRR: 0.9997; 95% CrI: 0.9996–0.9998), piped drinking water (IRR: 0.9948; 95% CrI: 0.9933–0.9964), public sewerage network (IRR: 0.9965; 95% CrI: 0.9938–0.9992), years of schooling (IRR: 0.9649; 95% CrI: 0.944–0.9862), infrastructure-to-household size ratio (IRR: 0.9903; 95% CrI: 0.986–0.9946), wealth index (IRR: 0.9502; 95% CrI: 0.9231–0.9781), and urbanization (IRR: 0.9919; 95% CrI: 0.9893–0.9944) of districts were negatively associated with seasonal U5AWD incidence. Strategically, developing geoinformation alarm systems based on meteorological data might help predict U5AWD high-risk areas. The study also anticipates increased rates of U5AWD in districts with poor sanitation and socioeconomic level. Therefore, governments should take appropriate preventative actions in these sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensity and frequency of climate extremes such as heat waves, droughts and extreme rainfall events are projected to rise. This will increase the severity of their impacts across socio-ecological systems. Economic sectors such as nature-based tourism become more vulnerable because of their reliance on climate and natural capital as key resources. While attempts have been made to understand how climate change may impact tourists and the industry itself, little is known about the same on tourism-dependent communities. This paper determines the extent to which tourism-dependent communities are vulnerable to climate change in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, to enhance their wider livelihood the development of strategies for improving adaptive capacity, resilience, and reduced exposure sensitivities. A household survey of 172 households was conducted in three purposively selected villages of Mababe, Sankuyo and Khwai, actively involved in community-based tourism for their socio-economic development. Information sourced related to livelihood options, peoples’ resilience, local risks, and hazards. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The results indicate that respondents have observed climatic changes over the years such as increased temperatures, decreased rainfall, and increased frequencies of extreme events. The respondents attributed changes in natural capital to these observed climatic conditions in the form of desiccation, dwindling populations of some wildlife species, decreased fish stocks and reduced vegetation cover. This renders the tourism-dependent communities vulnerable as their livelihood is threatened. The paper thus concludes that climate change adaptation is an urgent priority for local communities who are already exposed to existing climatic and non-climatic stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Journal of Biometeorology (IJB) has been the flagship journal in the field for the past 60+ years. However, given its interdisciplinary nature, biometeorology research has appeared in numerous publication outlets other than the IJB. This study compiles the most popular of these journals, so that early-career biometeorologists might be able to be exposed to more literature that the field has to offer. In focusing on where members of the International Society of Biometeorology's (ISB) Climate and Human Health Commission (CHH) members publish, journals with a general focus on fields such as climate, the environment, and health stand out. Many of these journals have impact factors much higher than the IJB, potentially making them more attractive for dissemination of results to a larger audience. With this paper, the authors hope that the interest in biometeorology is broadened through an expansion of known available literature, specifically with early-career researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenological shifts in plant species are one of the most conspicuous signs of climate change impact on the biosphere. Modeling phenological variations of plant species over broad regions is challenging because of the varied climatic requirements of geographic populations due to local adaptation. In this study, we developed an empirical method to calibrate phenological models of temperate trees using latitude as a predictor to account for local adaptation of populations to a N–S temperature gradient. Fourteen widely distributed tree species in the eastern U.S.A. were investigated using data from the USA-National Phenology Network. We implemented the method in a basic thermal time bud break model to introduce the algorithm of the method and test its effectiveness. For each species, dates of breaking leaf buds were first predicted using a traditional non-spatial model and then with a spatial model that has the critical thermal forcing requirements calibrated for different populations at varied latitudes. As anticipated, non-spatial model predictions that assumed a uniform forcing requirement across latitudes showed consistent and systematic biases at both higher (overestimation-predictions being later) and lower (underestimation-predictions being earlier) latitudes. Spatial models that have been calibrated using our method removed the geographic biases and yielded latitudinal gradients that more closely matched those of the observations. The spatial models also reduced the overall prediction errors from an average root mean square error (RMSE) of 32.2 days to 20.4 days for the training dataset and an average root mean square error for prediction (RMSEP) of 32.2 days to 19.9 days for the testing dataset. This paper is focused on introducing the new calibration method as a preparatory step toward developing operational models that may potentially predict large-scale and range-wide phenological responses of various plant species to climatic changes with improved local accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how recent trends in heat waves impact heat warning systems. We performed a retrospective analysis of the challenges faced by the French heat prevention plan since 2004. We described trends based on the environmental and health data collected each summer by the French heat warning system and prevention plan. Major evolutions of the system were tracked based on the evaluations organized each autumn with the stakeholders of the prevention plan. Excess deaths numbering 8000 were observed during heat waves between 2004 and 2019, 71% of these between 2015 and 2019. We observed major changes in the characteristics, frequency and the geographical spread of heat waves since 2015. Feedbacks led to several updates of the warning system such as the extension of the surveillance period. They also revealed that risk perception remained limited among the population and the stakeholders. The sharp increase in the number of heat warnings issued per year since 2015 challenges the acceptability of the heat warnings. Recent heat waves without historical equivalent interfere with the development of evidence-based prevention strategies. The growing public health impacts heat waves emphasize the urgent need to act to adapt the population, at different levels of intervention, from individual comportments to structural modifications. A specific attention should be given to increase the resources allocated to the evaluation and the management of heat-related risks, especially considering the needs to catch with the rapid rhythm of the changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant changes in climate variables in the last decades resulted in changes of perceived climate conditions. However, there are only few studies discussing long-lasting changes in bioclimatic conditions. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present the temporal and spatial distribution of hazardous heat and cold stress conditions in different regions of Poland. Its focus is on long-lasting changes in such conditions in the period 1951–2018. To assess changes in hazardous thermal stress conditions, the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was used. UTCI values at 12 UTC hour (respectively 1 pm winter time, 2 pm summer time) were calculated daily based on air temperature, relative humidity, total cloud cover and wind speed at 24 stations representing the whole area of Poland. We found that the greatest changes were observed in minimum (1.33 °C/10 years) and average (0.52 °C/10 years) UTCI values as well as in cold stress frequency (− 4.00 days per 10 years). The changes vary seasonally and regionally. The greatest increase in UTCImin and decrease in cold stress days were noted from November to March and had the highest values in north-east and east Poland, and also in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. The trends in maximum UTCI are much smaller and not always positive. The spatially averaged trend in UTCImax for Poland as a whole was 0.35 °C/10 years and the increase in heat stress days was 0.80 days/10 years. The highest increases in UTCImax and heat stress days were noted in eastern and south-eastern Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the temporal and spatial variability of the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) in Poland in summer. Summer is the season with the highest intensity of tourism traffic that is why it is important to determine biometeorological conditions, especially in popular tourist destinations such as coastal, mountain and urban areas, in the times of climate changes. The analysis was based on data from 18 stations of IMGW-PIB (Institute of Meteorology and Water Management—National Research Institute), distributed evenly in the territory of the country, and representing all eight bioclimatic regions. The data include air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity and cloudiness at 12 UTC from summer months: June, July and August from the years 2001–2018. Thermoneutral zone was the most frequently occurring UTCI class in Poland. It was recorded during 56–75% of summer days (with the exception of mountain stations, where it occurred on 30–35% of days). Moderate heat stress is the second most frequently occurring category with a frequency from 18 to 29% with the exception of mountain and coastal areas. Extreme and very strong cold stress occurred particularly in high mountain stations, and was sporadically observed at the coast of the Baltic Sea; however, the occurrence of such conditions decreases, which if favourable for beach tourism. No cases of extreme heat stress were recorded in any of the stations. The most unfavourable bioclimatic conditions were characteristic of the Upland Region (IV), represented by Kraków and Sandomierz, where very strong heat stress occurred with a 10% frequency. This is a limitation for urban tourism in those regions. The highest UTCI values were recorded in Kraków on 17 July 2007 and 29 July 2005. The highest number of cases with strong and very strong heat stress was recorded in 2015 as a consequence of the heat wave observed in Poland in the first half of August. In the majority of the analysed stations, in the second half of the analysed period (2010–2018), an increase in the number of days with strong and very strong heat stress was observed in comparison with the first half of period (2001–2009). The highest frequency of such days was observed in July. Based on the data, there are 4 potential periods of occurrence of such days, with two most intense being 26. July–13 August and 14–22 July. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both global climate change and urbanization trends will demand adaptation measures in cities. Large agglomerations and impacts on landscape and natural environments due to city growth will require guided densification schemes in urban areas, particularly in developing countries. Human biometeorological indices such as the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) could guide this process, as they provide a clear account of expected effects on thermal sensation from a given change in outdoor settings. However, an earlier step should optimally include an adequacy test of suggested comfort and thermal stress ranges with calibration procedures based on surveys with the target population. This paper compares obtained thermal comfort ranges for three different locations in Brazil: Belo Horizonte, 20° S, Aw climate type; Curitiba, 25.5° S, Cfb subtropical climate, both locations in elevation (above 900 m a.s.l.); and Pelotas, at sea level, latitude 32° S, with a Cfa climate type. In each city, a set of outdoor comfort field campaigns has been carried out according to similar procedures, covering a wide range of climatic conditions over different seasons of the year. Obtained results indicate a variation of neutral temperatures up to 3 °C (UTCI units) as a possible latitude and local climate effect between the southern locations relative to the northernmost location. Low UTCI values were found in the two subtropical locations for the lower threshold of the thermal comfort band as compared with the original threshold. A possible explanation for that is a longer exposure to cold conditions as buildings are seldom provided with heating systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late 1970s, East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) has shown a significant weakening trend, and sustained drought has occurred across North China. Placing recent climate changes in the paleoclimatic context can better understand the EASM variations. Four δ18O sequences based on tree-ring cellulose of Chinese pine were developed from Mt. Beiwudang, North China, covering a period from 1700 to 2013. Based on a climatic response analysis, a transfer function was designed to reconstruct the relative humidity from July to August (RHJA hereafter). The RHJA spans from 1765 to 2013 and explains 49% (R2adj= 48%) of the instrumental variance during the calibration period (1961–2013, r = − 0.70, p < 0.0001). The RHJA is mainly influenced by precipitation in the summer rainy season and reflect EASM variations. Spatial representation analysis indicates that RHJA represents the dry/wet variations across North China. At the interannual scale, RHJA records many extreme dry/wet events, among which the events in 1876–1878, 1900, and the 1920s are extensive droughts. Those events correspond well to ENSO events, plus further correlation and periodicity analysis indicate that RHJA contains ENSO signals. At the interdecadal scale, RHJA shows a decreasing trend and unprecedented low values from 1981 to 2013, suggesting that the weakening of EASM since the late 1970s is unprecedented in the past 249 years. Similarly, the significantly correlating region in the spatial correlation analysis, covering the Meiyu/Baiu/Changma rainfall belt and India, have also undergone a climatic shift since the late 1970s according to previous papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates the use of climatological data and published information to develop a thaw-freeze/freeze-kill indicator for fruit trees during flowering. In fruit-producing regions, when budding and flowering occur before the last spring freeze, a freeze-kill event can cause substantial losses. As spring onset is occurring earlier with climate change, thaw-freeze events have the potential to become more of a hazard both in terms of current production and in terms of potential adaptation strategies. To model the spring thaw-freeze and its magnitude or intensity, we proposed an indicator based on the accumulation of daily minimum temperature between successive freezing dates and its maximum value over the spring. This indicator was tested on apple and peach production in southern Ontario, Canada, using data from eight climate stations in southern Ontario. The indicator showed promise in its utility in that its magnitude was greater when freezing occurred after blooming and it was demonstrated to be correlated to the estimated blooming dates of apple and peach fruits grown in southern Ontario. The annual series was shown to fit the generalized extreme value distribution thereby allowing the extreme risk to be modelled and the return period to be calculated. It was also shown that the reported thaw-freeze events that caused significant apple and peach losses had a return period on the order of 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although ski tourism in China is experiencing a boom, and the number of operating ski areas has significantly increased, the influence of climate change on the future development of China's ski industry has so far largely been overlooked. This paper addresses this important gap by applying the ski season simulation model SkiSim 2.0 at 116 ski areas. Four main indicators of climate change impact were examined: ski season length, operational ski days in economically important season segments, technically produced snow and snowmaking requirements. For all ski resorts in China and all climate change scenarios, average ski seasons are projected to shorten (− 4 to − 61% RCP 4.5; − 6 to − 79% RCP 8.5 in the 2050s) while snowmaking needs increase (27 to 51% RCP 4.5; 46 to 80% RCP 8.5 in the 2050s). The results indicate that high regional differences in climate change vulnerability exist. The implications for altered competitiveness and development potential of the ski industry in China are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is affecting many living organisms; however, the responses of many of them remain unknown. In this paper, we present the results regarding the response of a bird species from the rallid family to the increased temperatures during the breeding season. We analysed the breeding data of Eurasian Coots nesting during 30 seasons between 1972 and 2019. During the study period, mean temperatures in April, the month when Coots start nesting, increased by 3.5 °C, and in months corresponding with the species breeding season by 2.6 °C. Breeding Coots advanced their earliest and median laying dates across the study period; however, the duration of their breeding season remained unchanged. We did not detect any significant temporal changes in clutch size, but clutches have become much more variable in size throughout the study period. Nest failures and production of offspring per nest did not change over the study period; however, the production of young per successful nest significantly declined. It is likely that this decline is the effect of mismatch between the period of food abundance (dipterans collected from water), and hatchling emergence, which is advanced due to change in climate. Future studies investigating the occurrence of dipteran resources at water bodies are needed to test this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of an outdoor thermal comfort study conducted in Hong Kong using longitudinal experiments-an alternative approach to conventional transverse surveys. In a longitudinal experiment, the thermal sensations of a relatively small number of subjects over different environmental conditions are followed and evaluated. This allows an exploration of the effects of changing climatic conditions on thermal sensation, and thus can provide information that is not possible to acquire through the conventional transverse survey. The paper addresses the effects of changing wind and solar radiation conditions on thermal sensation. It examines the use of predicted mean vote (PMV) in the outdoor context and illustrates the use of an alternative thermal index-physiological equivalent temperature (PET). The paper supports the conventional assumption that thermal neutrality corresponds to thermal comfort. Finally, predictive formulas for estimating outdoor thermal sensation are presented as functions of air temperature, wind speed, solar radiation intensity and absolute humidity. According to the formulas, for a person in light clothing sitting under shade on a typical summer day in Hong Kong where the air temperature is about 28°C and relative humidity about 80%, a wind speed of about 1.6 m/s is needed to achieve neutral thermal sensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the summer, high ambient temperature and humidity cause economic loss to the global livestock industry via reduced livestock productivity and increased mortality. The problem of heat stress (HS) is likely to be exacerbated by global warming and climate change. Recent research has shown that HS not only leads to physiological and metabolic perturbations in live animals but can also affect carcass and meat quality characteristics plausibly by altering the rate and extent of postmortem muscle glycolysis and resultant pH. However, these impacts of HS are not consistent across species. Higher incidence of pale soft and exudative (PSE) meat has been reported in poultry. On the contrary, higher incidence of high ultimate pH and dark firm and dry (DFD) meat or no impacts of HS have been reported in sheep and cattle. With the limited data on HS impacts on meat quality of ruminants, it is difficult to explain the exact mechanisms driving these variable impacts. However, it is hypothesized that the severity and duration of HS may lead to variable impacts due to lack of opportunity to adapdate to acute heat exposure. Longer HS exposure may allow ruminants to adapdate to heat and may not record any negative impacts on meat quality. This paper reviews the recent research on impacts of HS on meat quality characteristics and identify the key areas of further research required to better understand these negative impacts to develop strategies for amelioration. In addition, some mitigation strategies of HS have also been discussed which include both managemental and nutritional interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder with heterogeneous aetiology mostly affecting younger people and causing immense disability. Seasonal patterns may be observed in schizophrenia hospital admissions with possible association with changing climatic parameters and socio-demographic characteristics. This study critically reviewed studies that have assessed seasonal variations of hospital admissions for schizophrenia and/or explored an association with climate parameters and/or other potential factors. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic literature search was conducted using electronic databases (e.g. MEDLINE, Science Direct, PsycINFO, Pub Med) from inception to February 29, 2020. Thirty five papers were identified, of which only six (17.1%) examined evidence for a seasonal pattern or monthly excess of hospital admissions and the remaining twenty nine (82.9%) assessed climatic and socio-demographic attributes relating to the seasonal pattern or increased hospitalisation for schizophrenia. While most studies reported a summer peak in hospital admission rates, other studies reported a winter peak. Most of the evidence indicated that higher temperatures (> 28 °C) were positively correlated with schizophrenia admission rates. The individual effects of other climatic parameters (e.g. relative humidity, rainfall, atmospheric pressure, sunlight) were less frequently assessed. Males, people of 21–60 years old, and those married were more vulnerable to climatic variability specifically to higher temperatures. Further studies using large sample sizes, analysis of a wide range of interacting environmental variables and sophisticated statistical approaches are needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms involved. This will also provide more reliable statistical evidence that will help in the prevention and better management of cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of climate change scenarios, it is important to evaluate the possibility of an increase in the incidence of corn crop diseases and to promote studies aimed at creating mitigation measures. This paper aims to study the impacts that regional climate changes may have on the potential occurrence of corn common rust (Puccinia sorghi), in the region of Castro, Paraná (Brazil). The Eta climate model was driven by the global model CanESM2. We use the Historical simulation of the EtaCanESM2 model from 1981 to 2005, and future projections from 2046 to 2070 to simulate the occurrence of common rust. The criteria was adopted to simulate the common rust disease favored in environments with the minimum temperature lower than 8 °C, the maximum temperature higher than 32 °C, average temperature between 16 and 23 °C, and relative humidity higher than 95%. In Brazil, there are two different seasons for corn crop (Normaland Safrinha). Results show that relative humidity and minimum temperature simulated by the model presented good skills, approaching the observed data. Compared to the Historical simulation, the projections show a tendency to increase of maximum and minimum temperature in the future, and a tendency to decrease relative humidity. There is an increase in the number of days with the potential for the occurrence of the disease. The distribution of days with favorable conditions to rust disease tends to change in the future. In the Normaland Safrinhaseasons, there is a tendency to increase the number of days with favorable conditions to common rust occurrence. The influence of planting time is greater in Historical simulation when compared to future scenarios. The Safrinhaseason may present more days with the potential for the occurrence of common rust in the future than the Normalseason. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes a long-term (1991–2019) flowering period of birch in the Czech Republic. Temporal and spatial evaluation in timing of beginning and end of flowering (Fbegin and Fend) and flowering period (Fperiod) of Betula pendula were investigated in different zones of the Czech Republic. The field observations were carried out at 44 sites of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute phenological network; the detailed analysis including growing degree days (GDD) evaluation to Fbegin and Fend onsets and time of flowering were made at 9 sites in different altitudes. The trends and Pearson's correlation coefficients between Fbegin (Fend) and GDDs were calculated as well. The timing of both phenological stages showed a significant advance to earlier onsets (e.g., − 7.0 d per decade at Měděnec station) and the time of flowering shortens (e.g., − 3.8 d per decade at Rokytnice station). Nevertheless, the most marked shift was observed for mountain area in the north-western and north-eastern part of the Czech Republic. In contrast, the smallest shift was found in the southern part of the Czech Republic. The shift of the GDD values fluctuates from negative to positive values. Pearson's correlation coefficients calculated for both phenophases and period of flowering of Betula pendula showed the highest values in Fperiod (e.g., 0.846 at Modrava station) and in Fend (e.g., 0.711 at Rokytnice station) as well. Thus, our results indicate due to global warming symptoms that birch pollen allergy may appear earlier in the year but for a shorter period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenological models are widely used to estimate the influence of weather and climate on plant development. The goodness of fit of phenological models often is assessed by considering the root-mean-square error (RMSE) between observed and predicted dates. However, the spatial patterns and temporal trends derived from models with similar RMSE may vary considerably. In this paper, we analyse and compare patterns and trends from a suite of temperature-based phenological models, namely extended spring indices, thermal time and photothermal time models. These models were first calibrated using lilac leaf onset observations for the period 1961–1994. Next, volunteered phenological observations and daily gridded temperature data were used to validate the models. After that, the two most accurate models were used to evaluate the patterns and trends of leaf onset for the conterminous US over the period 2000–2014. Our results show that the RMSEs of extended spring indices and thermal time models are similar and about 2 days lower than those produced by the other models. Yet the dates of leaf out produced by each of the models differ by up to 11 days, and the trends differ by up to a week per decade. The results from the histograms and difference maps show that the statistical significance of these trends strongly depends on the type of model applied. Therefore, further work should focus on the development of metrics that can quantify the difference between patterns and trends derived from spatially explicit phenological models. Such metrics could subsequently be used to validate phenological models in both space and time. Also, such metrics could be used to validate phenological models in both space and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenological data have become increasingly important as indicators of long-term climate change. Consequently, long-term homogeneity of the records is an important aspect. In this paper, we apply a breakpoint detection algorithm to the phenological series from the Swiss Phenology Network (SPN). A combination of three statistical tests is applied and different constraints are tested with respect to the choice of reference series. Breakpoint detection is only possible for a fraction of the series due to the shortness of some series and the lack of suitable reference series. Spring phases are more likely to be suitable than fall phases because of their higher spatial correlation. Out of nearly 3000 phenological series with at least 20 data points, only about 5% were found to be significantly inhomogeneous, although a visual validation indicates that many mid-sized breakpoints remained undetected. The detected breakpoints were compared with metadata and more than half of them could be attributed to a change of observer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the paper was the determination of the circulation conditions of occurrence of strong and very strong frost in Central Europe. A frost day was defined as a day with the minimum temperature lower than 0 °C and maximum temperature higher than 0 °C. Moreover, a division of frost was performed in terms of value of minimum temperature, resulting in the designation of mild frost (up to − 2.0 °C), moderate frost (from − 2.1 to − 4 °C), strong frost (from − 4.1 to − 6 °C) and very strong frost (< − 6 °C). The study was based on data from the years 1966–2015 from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management—National Research Institute, Deutscher Wetterdienst and National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR). The analysis of baric conditions employed values of pressure at sea level, height of isobaric surface of 500 hPa and air temperature at a level of 850 hPa, as well as their anomalies. The spatial analysis showed that the number of frost days in spring and autumn increased from the west to the east of Central Europe. A decrease in the number of frost days, however, is observed over the prevailing area. Average conditions favouring the occurrence of strong and very strong frost both in spring and autumn were related to higher than average pressure at sea level over the prevailing area of the Euro-Atlantic sector. Such baric conditions caused advections of cool air masses from the northern sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss the contents within the issue including articles on topics such as climate change, heat stress and its effects on spontaneous abortion and still-births in pregnant women in Ghana, and possible loss in work ability due to heat stress.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC predicts that hot seasons will get even hotter due to global climate change. There exists a critical dependence of human metabolic processes on temperature. Changes in thermal balance therefore, have an adverse effect on health because they raise body temperature, cause excessive sweating, and accelerate the rate of dehydration. Different nations and professional groups use different techniques to measure heat strain. This paper aims to review previous research conducted in the area of heat strain due to heat exposure among workers in Southeast Asia and also to profile mitigation strategies in North East India. Studies conducted between the years 2011 to 2023 in the evaluation of the health impacts of occupational heat stress were searched systematically using several sources of databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, etc. It was noted that a greater proportion of previous research on evaluating physiological effects was carried out in controlled environments as opposed to real-world field settings. While such studies give us valuable insights into the relationship, applying the same methodology in the workplace may not be feasible. In India, very few research has been carried out on workplace heat stress, and even fewer have been done in North East India using physiological indicators. North East India is also affected by global climate change leading top more hotter days than before. The region of Northeast India, particularly Guwahati (Assam), has recently seen extreme heat waves during the sweltering summer months. With less literature available in this geographical location, studies with actual field-based settings are much needed to understand the occupational health impacts in this region. This review can formulate a suitable methodology for assessing the health impacts in working environment. This can also help the local health professionals to recognize the heat strain parameters that are acceptable worldwide, and use as pertinent indicators to scrutinize worker’s health and develop preventive agendas as climate change advances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's primary production sector operates in one of the world's most variable climates with future climate change posing a challenge to its ongoing sustainability. Recognising this, Australia has invested in understanding climate change risks to primary production with a substantial amount of research produced. Recently, focus on this research space has broadened, with interests from the financial sector and expanded scopes of works from government and industry. These expanded needs require sector- and country-wide assessments to assist with the implementation of climate strategies. We considered the applicability of the current research body for these needs by reviewing 188 peer-reviewed studies that considered the quantitative impacts of climate change on Australia's primary industries. Our broad review includes cropping, livestock, horticulture, forestry and fisheries and biosecurity threats. This is the first such review for Australia, and no other similar country-wide review was found. We reviewed the studies through three lenses, industry diversity, geographic coverage and study comparability. Our results show that all three areas are lacking for sector- and country-wide assessments. Industry diversity was skewed towards cropping and biosecurity threats (64% of all studies) with wheat in particular a major focus (25% of all studies). Geographic coverage at a state level appeared to be evenly distributed across the country; however, when considered in conjunction with industry focus, gaps emerged. Study comparability was found to be very limited due to the use of different historical baseline periods and different impact models. We make several recommendations to assist with future research directions, being (1) co-development of a standard set of method guidelines for impact assessments, (2) filling industry and geographic knowledge gaps, and (3) improving transparency in study method descriptions. Uptake of these recommendations will improve study application and transparency enabling and enhancing responses to climate change in Australia's primary industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various human heat stress indices have been developed to relate atmospheric measures of extreme heat to human health impacts, but the usefulness of different indices across various health impacts and in different populations is poorly understood. This paper determines which heat stress indices best fit hospital admissions for sets of cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal diseases across five Australian cities. We hypothesized that the best indices would be largely dependent on location. We fit parent models to these counts in the summers (November-March) between 2001 and 2013 using negative binomial regression. We then added 15 heat stress indices to these models, ranking their goodness of fit using the Akaike information criterion. Admissions for each health outcome were nearly always higher in hot or humid conditions. Contrary to our hypothesis that location would determine the best-fitting heat stress index, we found that the best indices were related largely by health outcome of interest, rather than location as hypothesized. In particular, heatwave and temperature indices had the best fit to cardiovascular admissions, humidity indices had the best fit to respiratory admissions, and combined heat-humidity indices had the best fit to renal admissions. With a few exceptions, the results were similar across all five cities. The best-fitting heat stress indices appear to be useful across several Australian cities with differing climates, but they may have varying usefulness depending on the outcome of interest. These findings suggest that future research on heat and health impacts, and in particular hospital demand modeling, could better reflect reality if it avoided “all-cause” health outcomes and used heat stress indices appropriate to specific diseases and disease groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat stress is one of the environmental factors influencing the health of individuals and the wider population. There is a large body of research to document significant increases in mortality and morbidity during heat waves all over the world. This paper presents key results of research dealing with heat-related mortality (HRM) in various cities in Poland which cover about 25% of the country’s population. Daily mortality and weather data reports for the years 1991-2000 were used. The intensity of heat stress was assessed by the universal thermal climate index (UTCI). The research considers also the projections of future bioclimate to the end of twenty-first century. Brain storming discussions were applied to find necessary adaptation strategies of healthcare system (HCS) in Poland, to minimise negative effects of heat stress. In general, in days with strong and very strong heat stress, ones must expect increase in mortality (in relation to no thermal stress days) of 12 and 47%, respectively. Because of projected rise in global temperature and heat stress frequency, we must expect significant increase in HRM to the end of twenty-first century of even 165% in comparison to present days. The results of research show necessity of urgent implementation of adaptation strategies to heat in HCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the HEAT (Healthy Environments for AthleTes) project, which aims to understand the impact of environmental conditions on athlete health and performance during major sporting events such as long-distance running, cycling, and triathlons. In collaboration with the SAFER (Strategies to reduce Adverse medical events For the ExerciseR) initiative, the HEAT project carried out a field campaign at the 2022 Comrades Marathon in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The measurement campaign deployed seven weather stations, seven PM2.5 monitors and one spore trap along the 90 km route to capture spatially representative measurements of complex micro-climates, allergenic aerospora, and particulate matter exposure. The results indicate that runners were exposed to moderate risk heat stress conditions. Novel findings from this initial campaign shows elevated and potentially harmful PM2.5 levels at spectator areas, possibly coinciding with small fire events around the race day festivities. Our findings show values PM2.5 levels over the WHO 24-h guidelines at all stations, while 2000 µg/m3 at two stations. However, the lack of an acute exposure standard means direct health impacts cannot be quantified in the context of a sport event. The HEAT project highlights important aspects of race day monitoring; regional scale climatology has an impact on the race day conditions, the microclimatic conditions (pollution and meteorology) are not necessarily captured by proximity instruments and direct environmental measurements are required to accurately capture conditions along the route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to estimate how the observed and predicted climate changes may affect the development rates and emergence of the codling moth in the southern part of the Wielkopolska region in Poland. In order to simulate the future climate conditions one of the most frequently used A1B SRES scenarios and two different IPCC climate models (HadCM3 and GISS modelE) are considered. A daily weather generator (WGENK) was used to generate temperature values for present and future climate conditions (time horizons 2020-2040 and 2040-2060). Based on the generated data set, the degree-days values were then calculated and the emergence dates of the codling moth at key stages were estimated basing on the defined thresholds. Our analyses showed that the average air surface temperature in the Wielkopolska region may increase from 2.8°C (according to GISS modelE) even up to 3.3°C (HadCM3) in the period of 2040-2060. With the warming climate conditions the cumulated degree-days values may increase at a rate of about 142 DD per decade when the low temperature threshold ( T) of 0°C is considered and 91 DD per decade when T = 10°C. The key developmental stages of the codling moth may occur much earlier in the future climate conditions than currently, at a rate of about 3.8-6.8 days per decade, depending on the considered GCM model and the pest developmental stage. The fastest changes may be observed in the emergence dates of 95% of larvae of the second codling moth generation. This could increase the emergence probability of the pest third generation that has not currently occurred in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of changes in the timing of life cycle-events of organisms (phenology) has been able to contribute significantly to the assessment of potential impacts of climate change on ecology. These phenological responses of species to changes in climate are likely to have significant relevance for socio-economic issues such as agriculture, forestry and human health and have proven able to play a role in raising environmental awareness and education on climate change. This paper presents the European Phenology Network (EPN), which aims to increase the efficiency, added value and use of phenological monitoring and research, and to promote the practical use of phenological data in assessing the impact of global (climate) change and possible adaptation measures. The paper demonstrates that many disciplines have to deal with changes in the timing of life-cycle events in response to climate change and that many different user groups are involved. Furthermore, it shows how EPN addresses issues such as (1) raising public awareness and education, (2) the integration and co-operation of existing observing systems, (3) integration and access to phenological information and (4) communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, phenology has become an important tool by which to measure both the impact of climate change on ecosystems and the feedback of ecosystems to the climate system. However, there has been little attempt to date to systematically quantify the increase in the number of scientific publications with a focus on phenology and climate change. In order to partially address this issue, we examined the number of articles (original papers, reviews and short communications) containing the terms 'phenology' and 'climate change' in the title, abstract or keywords, published in the International Journal of Biometeorology in the 60 years since its inception in 1957. We manually inspected all issues prior to 1987 for the search terms and subsequently used the search facility on the Web of Science online database. The overall number of articles published per decade remained relatively constant (255-378) but rose rapidly to 1053 in the most recent decade (2007-2016), accompanied by an increase (41-172) in the number of articles containing the search terms. A number of factors may have contributed to this rise, including the recognition of the value of phenology as an indicator of climate change and the initiation in 2010 of a series of conferences focusing on phenology which subsequently led to two special issues of the journal. The word 'phenology' was in use from the first issue, whereas 'climate change' only emerged in 1987 and peaked in 2014. New technologies such as satellite remote sensing and the internet led to an expansion of and greater access to a growing reservoir of phenological information. The application of phenological data included determining the impact of warming of phenophases, predicting wine quality and the pollen season, demonstrating the potential for mismatch to occur and both reconstructing and forecasting climate. Even though this analysis was limited to one journal, it is likely to be indicative of a similar trend across other scientific publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outdoor urban areas are very important for cities and microclimate is a critical parameter in the design process, contributing to thermal comfort which is important for urban developments. The research presented in this paper is part of extensive field surveys conducted in Athens aimed at investigating people's thermal sensation in a Mediterranean city. Based on 2313 questionnaires and microclimatic data the current work focuses on the relative frequencies of people's evaluation of the thermal along with the sun and wind sensations between two seasons trying to identify the seasonal differences in thermal sensation. The impact of basic meteorological factors on thermal discomfort with respect to season are also examined, as well as the use of the outdoor environment. Results show that psychological adaptation is an important contributing factor influencing perception of the thermal environment between seasons. In addition, the thermal sensation votes during the cool months show that individuals are satisfied to a great extend with the thermal environment whereas the combination of high air temperature, strong solar radiation and weak wind lead to thermal discomfort during summertime. As far as the appropriate urban design in the Mediterranean climate is concerned, priority should be given to the warm months of the year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in leaf area index (LAI) are critical to research on forest ecosystem structure and function, especially carbon and water cycle, and their responses to climate change. Using the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method and global inventory modeling and mapping studies (GIMMS) LAI3g dataset from 1982 to 2010, we analyzed the nonlinear feature and spatial difference of forest LAI variability over China for the past 29 years in this paper. Results indicated that the national-averaged forest LAI was characterized by quasi-3- and quasi-7-year oscillations, which generally exhibited a rising trend with an increasing rate. When compared with 1982, forest LAI change by 2010 was more evident than that by 1990 and 2000. The largest increment of forest LAI occurred in Central and South China, while along the southeastern coastal areas LAI increased at the fastest pace. During the study period, forest LAI experienced from decrease to increase or vice versa across much of China and varied monotonically for only a few areas. Focusing on regional-averaged trend processes, almost all eco-geographical regions showed continuously increasing trends in forest LAI with different magnitudes and speeds, other than tropical humid region and temperate humid/subhumid region, where LAI decreased initially and increased afterwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the climate of Western Europe has been deeply affected by the abrupt climate change that took place in the late '1980s of the twentieth century, a similar signal is detected only few years later, in 1994, in Georgia. Grapevine phenology is deeply influenced by climate and this paper aimed to analyze how phenological timing changed before and after the climatic change of 1994. Availability of thermal resources in the two climatic phases for the five altitudinal belts in the 0-1250-m range was analyzed. A phenological dataset gathered in two experimental sites during the period 2012-2014, and a suitable thermal dataset was used to calibrate a phenological model based on the normal approach and able to describe BBCH phenological stages 61 (beginning of flowering), 71 (fruit set), and 81 (veraison). Calibration was performed for four relevant Georgian varieties (Mtsvane Kakhuri, Rkatsiteli, Ojaleshi, and Saperavi). The model validation was performed on an independent 3-year dataset gathered in Gorizia (Italy). Furthermore, in the case of variety Rkatsiteli, the model was applied to the 1974-2013 thermal time series in order to obtain phenological maps of the Georgian territory. Results show that after the climate change of 1994, Rkatsiteli showed an advance, more relevant at higher altitudes where the whole increase of thermal resource was effectively translated in phenological advance. For instance the average advance of veraison was 5.9 days for 250-500 m asl belt and 18.1 days for 750-1000 m asl). On the other hand, at lower altitudes, phenological advance was depleted by superoptimal temperatures. As a final result, some suggestions for the adaptation of viticultural practices to the current climatic phase are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental health hazards faced by farmers, such as exposure to extreme heat stress, are a growing concern due to global climate change, particularly in tropical developing countries. In such environments, farmers are considered to be a population at risk of environmental heat exposure. The situation is exacerbated due to their farming methods that involve the use of primitive equipment and hard manual labour conducted in full sunshine under hot and humid conditions. However, there is inadequate information about the extent of heat exposure to such farmers, both at the household and farm levels. This paper presents results from a study assessing environmental heat exposure on rural smallholder farmers in Bawku East, Northern Ghana. From January to December 2013, Lascar USB temperature and humidity sensors and a calibrated Questemp heat stress monitor were deployed to farms and homes of rural farmers at Pusiga in Bawku East to capture farmers' exposure to heat stress in both their living and working environments as they executed regular farming routines. The Lascar sensors have the capability to frequently, accurately and securely measure temperature and humidity over long periods. The Questemp heat stress monitor was placed in the same vicinity and showed strong correlations to Lascar sensors in terms of derived values of wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT). The WBGT in the working environment of farmers peaked at 33.0 to 38.1 °C during the middle of the day in the rainy season from March to October and dropped to 14.0-23.7 °C in the early morning during this season. A maximum hourly WBGT of 28.9-37.5 °C (March-October) was recorded in the living environment of farmers, demonstrating little relief from heat exposure during the day. With these levels of heat stress, exposed farmers conducting physically demanding outdoor work risk suffering serious health consequences. The sustainability of manual farming practices is also under threat by such high levels of heat exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most popular vegetation indices to monitor terrestrial vegetation productivity, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has been widely used to study the plant growth and vegetation productivity around the world, especially the dynamic response of vegetation to climate change in terms of precipitation and temperature. Alberta is the most important agricultural and forestry province and with the best climatic observation systems in Canada. However, few studies pertaining to climate change and vegetation productivity are found. The objectives of this paper therefore were to better understand impacts of climate change on vegetation productivity in Alberta using the NDVI and provide reference for policy makers and stakeholders. We investigated the following: (1) the variations of Alberta's smoothed NDVI (sNDVI, eliminated noise compared to NDVI) and two climatic variables (precipitation and temperature) using non-parametric Mann-Kendall monotonic test and Thiel-Sen's slope; (2) the relationships between sNDVI and climatic variables, and the potential predictability of sNDVI using climatic variables as predictors based on two predicted models; and (3) the use of a linear regression model and an artificial neural network calibrated by the genetic algorithm (ANN-GA) to estimate Alberta's sNDVI using precipitation and temperature as predictors. The results showed that (1) the monthly sNDVI has increased during the past 30 years and a lengthened growing season was detected; (2) vegetation productivity in northern Alberta was mainly temperature driven and the vegetation in southern Alberta was predominantly precipitation driven for the period of 1982-2011; and (3) better performances of the sNDVI-climate relationships were obtained by nonlinear model (ANN-GA) than using linear (regression) model. Similar results detected in both monthly and summer sNDVI prediction using climatic variables as predictors revealed the applicability of two models for different period of year ecologists might focus on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is a rapidly growing international sector and relies intrinsically on an amenable climate to attract visitors. Climate change is likely to influence the locations preferred by tourists and the time of year of peak travel. This study investigates the effect of climate change on the Tourism Climate Index (TCI) for Iran. The paper first calculates the monthly TCI for 40 cities across Iran for each year from 1961 to 2010. Changes in the TCI over the study period for each of the cities are then explored. Increases in TCI are observed for at least one station in each month, whilst for some months no decreases occurred. For October, the maximum of 45 % of stations demonstrated significant changes in TCI, whilst for December only 10 % of stations demonstrated change. The stations Kashan, Orumiyeh, Shahrekord, Tabriz, Torbat-e-Heidarieh and Zahedan experienced significant increases in TCI for over 6 months. The beginning of the change in TCI is calculated to have occurred from 1970 to 1980 for all stations. Given the economic dependence on oil exports, the development of sustainable tourism in Iran is of importance. This critically requires the identification of locations most suitable for tourism, now and in the future, to guide strategic investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sought to chart airborne Quercus pollen counts over the last 20 years in the region of Galicia (NW Spain) with a view to detecting the possible influence of climate change on the Quercus airborne pollen season (APS). Pollen data from Ourense, Santiago de Compostela, Vigo and Lugo were used. The Quercus airborne pollen season was characterized in terms of the following parameters: pollen season start and end dates, peak pollen count, pollen season length and pollen index. Several methods, dates and threshold temperatures for determining the chill and heat requirements needed to trigger flowering were applied. A diverse APS onset timing sequence was observed for the four cities as Quercus flowers few days in advance in Vigo. The variations observed could be related to differences in the meteorological conditions or the thermal requirements needed for flowering. Thermal requirements differed depending on local climate conditions in the study cities: the lowest values for chilling accumulation were recorded in Vigo and the highest in Lugo, whereas the lowest heat accumulation was achieved in Vigo. Differences in APS trends between cities may reflect variations in weather-related trends. A significant trend towards rising Quercus pollen indices and higher maximum daily mean pollen counts was observed in Ourense, linked to the more marked temperature increase across southern Galicia. A non-uniform trend towards increased temperatures was noted over the study period, particularly in late summer and early autumn in all four study cities. Additionally, an increase in spring temperatures was observed in south-western Galicia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of climatic changes on life cycles by re-scheduling the timing of reproduction is an important topic in studies of biodiversity. Global warming causes and will probably cause in the future not only raising temperatures but also an increasing frequency of extreme weather events. In 2013, the winter in central and north Europe ended late, with low temperatures and long-retained snow cover-this extreme weather phenomenon acted in opposition to the increasing temperature trend. In 2013, thermal conditions measured by the warmth sum in the period 15 March-15 April, a critical time for early breeding passerines, went far beyond the range of the warmth sums for at least 40 preceding years. Regardless of what was the reason for the extreme early spring 2013 and assuming that there is a potential for more atypical years because of climate change, we should look closely at every extreme phenomenon and its consequences for the phenology of organisms. In this paper, we report that the prolonged occurrence of winter conditions during the time that is crucial for Blue Tit ( Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tit ( Parus major) reproduction caused a substantial delay in the onset of egg laying in comparison with typical springs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing epidemiological studies have shown that a rapid temperature change within 1 day is an independent risk factor for human health. This paper aimed to systematically review the epidemiological evidence on the relationship between diurnal temperature range (DTR) and human health and to propose future research directions. A literature search was conducted in October 2013 using the databases including PubMed, ScienceDirect, and EBSCO. Empirical studies regarding the relationship between DTR and mortality and morbidity were included. Twenty-five relevant studies were identified, among which, 11 investigated the relationship between DTR and mortality and 14 examined the impact of DTR on morbidity. The majority of existing studies reported that DTR was significantly associated with mortality and morbidity, particularly for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Notably, compared with adults, the elderly and children were more vulnerable to DTR effects. However, there were some inconsistencies regarding the susceptible groups, lag time, and threshold of DTR. The impact of DTR on human health may be confounded or modified by season, socioeconomic, and educational status. Further research is needed to further confirm the adverse effects of DTR in different geographical locations; examine the effects of DTR on the health of children aged one or under; explore extreme DTR effects on human health; analyze the difference of DTR effects on human health in different locations and the modified effects of potential confounding factors; and develop detailed preventive measures against large DTR, particularly for susceptible groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Murray dairy region produces approximately 1.85 billion litres of milk each year, representing about 20 % of Australia's total annual milk production. An ongoing production challenge in this region is the management of the impacts of heat stress during spring and summer. An increase in the frequency and severity of extreme temperature events due to climate change may result in additional heat stress and production losses. This paper assesses the changing nature of heat stress now, and into the future, using historical data and climate change projections for the region using the temperature humidity index (THI). Projected temperature and relative humidity changes from two global climate models (GCMs), CSIRO MK3.5 and CCR-MIROC-H, have been used to calculate THI values for 2025 and 2050, and summarized as mean occurrence of, and mean length of consecutive high heat stress periods. The future climate scenarios explored show that by 2025 an additional 12-15 days (compared to 1971 to 2000 baseline data) of moderate to severe heat stress are likely across much of the study region. By 2050, larger increases in severity and occurrence of heat stress are likely (i.e. an additional 31-42 moderate to severe heat stress days compared with baseline data). This increasing trend will have a negative impact on milk production among dairy cattle in the region. The results from this study provide useful insights on the trends in THI in the region. Dairy farmers and the dairy industry could use these results to devise and prioritise adaptation options to deal with projected increases in heat stress frequency and severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of how the mean radiant temperature ( T) is affected by factors such as location, climate and urban setting contributes to the practice of climate sensitive planning. This paper examines how T varies within an urban setting and how it is influenced by cloudiness. In addition, variations of T in three high latitude cities are investigated in order to analyse the impact of geographical context and climate conditions. Results showed large spatial variations between sunlit and shaded areas during clear weather conditions, with the highest values of T close to sunlit walls and the lowest values in the areas shaded by buildings and vegetation. As cloudiness increases, the spatial pattern is altered and the differences are reduced. The highest T under cloudy conditions is instead found in open areas where the proportion of shortwave diffuse radiation from the sky vault is high. A regional comparison between three Swedish coastal cities showed that T during summer is similar regardless of latitudinal location. On the other hand, large differences in T during winter were found. Shadows, both from buildings and vegetation are the most effective measure to reduce extreme values of T. However, extensive areas of shadow are usually not desired within outdoor urban environments at high latitude cities. One solution is to create diverse outdoor urban spaces in terms of shadow and also ventilation. This would provide individuals with access to a choice of thermal environments which they can use to assist their thermal regulation, based on personal needs and desires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has been predicted to affect future air quality, with inevitable consequences for health. Quantifying the health effects of air pollution under a changing climate is crucial to provide evidence for actions to safeguard future populations. In this paper, we review published methods for quantifying health impacts to identify optimal approaches and ways in which existing challenges facing this line of research can be addressed. Most studies have employed a simplified methodology, while only a few have reported sensitivity analyses to assess sources of uncertainty. The limited investigations that do exist suggest that examining the health risk estimates should particularly take into account the uncertainty associated with future air pollution emissions scenarios, concentration-response functions, and future population growth and age structures. Knowledge gaps identified for future research include future health impacts from extreme air pollution events, interactions between temperature and air pollution effects on public health under a changing climate, and how population adaptation and behavioural changes in a warmer climate may modify exposure to air pollution and health consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between temperature and drought was investigated using the temperature-sensitive growth of Larix chinensis Beissn in the Qinling Mountains, central China. Extremely high tree-ring width index values (TRWI) agreed well with dry conditions defined by the dryness-wetness index (DWI) obtained from data in Chinese historical documents and climate-related papers between 1814 and 1956 (before the short of instrumental measurements); the reverse applied to extremely low TRWI values. The main severe drought epochs occurred from the late 1850s to the 1870s, the 1920s to 1930s and in the 2000s, whereas wet spells occurred from 1817-1827 and 1881-1886. The droughts in the 2000s exhibited a similar pattern as the ones from the 1920s to 1930s, with obviously an increasing temperature. The variation of tree growth agreed well with other reconstructed temperature series from nearby and remote regions, suggesting that Larix chinensis could respond to broad-scale climate variability. The longest cold interval, 1817-1827, could be associated with the influence of the Tambora eruption in 1815. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]