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Background: Extreme heat and air pollution are important human health concerns; exposure can affect mental and physical well-being, particularly during periods of co-occurrence. Yet, the impacts on people are largely determined by underlying health conditions, coupled with the length and intensity of exposure. Preexisting adverse health conditions and prolonged exposure times are more common for people experiencing homelessness, particularly those with intersectional identity characteristics (e.g., disease, ability, age, etc.). Partially due to methodological limitations, such as data scarcity, there is a lack of research at the intersection of this at-risk population within the climate-health domain. Objectives: We have three distinct objectives throughout this article: a) to advance critical discussions around the state of concurrent high heat and air pollution exposure research as it relates to people experiencing homelessness; b) to assert the importance of heat and air pollution exposure research among a highly vulnerable, too-often homogenized population--people experiencing homelessness; and c) to underline challenges in this area of study while presenting potential ways to address such shortcomings. Discussion: The health insights from concurrent air pollution and heat exposure studies are consequential when studying unhoused communities who are already overexposed to harmful environmental conditions. Without holistic data sets and more advanced methods to study concurrent exposures, appropriate and targeted prevention and intervention strategies cannot be developed to protect this at-risk population. We highlight that a) concurrent high heat and air pollution exposure research among people experiencing homelessness is significantly underdeveloped considering the pressing human health implications; b) the severity of physiological responses elicited by high heat and air pollution are predicated on exposure intensity and time, and thus people without means of seeking climate-controlled shelter are most at risk; and c) collaboration among transdisciplinary teams is needed to resolve data resolution issues and enable targeted prevention and intervention strategies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13402, Introduction Extreme heat and air pollution exposures are well-known risks to human health globally. (1,2) Together or separately, these environmental exposures can increase health risks and negatively impact overall well-being, [...]

Background: As atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise, temperature and humidity will increase further, causing potentially dire increases in human heat stress. On physiological and biophysical grounds, exposure to higher levels of humidity should worsen heat stress by decreasing sweat evaporation. However, population-scale epidemiological studies of heat exposure and response often do not detect associations between high levels of humidity and heat-related mortality or morbidity. These divergent, disciplinary views regarding the role of humidity in heat-related health risks limit confidence in selecting which interventions are effective in reducing health impacts and in projecting future heat-related health risks. Objectives: Via our multidisciplinary perspective we seek to a) reconcile the competing realities concerning the role of humidity in heat-related health impacts and b) help ensure robust projections of heat-related health risks with climate change. These objectives are critical pathways to identify and communicate effective approaches to cope with present and future heat challenges. Discussion: We hypothesize six key reasons epidemiological studies have found little impact of humidity on heat- health outcomes: a) At high temperatures, there may be limited influence of humidity on the health conditions that cause most heat-related deaths (i.e., cardiovascular collapse); b) epidemiological data sets have limited spatial extent, a bias toward extratropical (i.e., cooler and less humid), high-income nations, and tend to exist in places where temporal variations in temperature and humidity are positively correlated; c) analyses focus on older, vulnerable populations with sweating, and thus evaporative, impairments that may be further aggravated by dehydration; d) extremely high levels of temperature and humidity (seldom seen in the historical record) are necessary for humidity to substantially impact heat strain of sedentary individuals; e) relationships between temperature and humidity are improperly considered when interpreting epidemiological model results; and f) sub-daily meteorological phenomena, such as rain, occur at high temperatures and humidity, and may bias epidemiological studies based on daily data. Future research must robustly test these hypotheses to advance methods for more accurate incorporation of humidity in estimating heat-related health outcomes under present and projected future climates. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11807, Introduction Heat extremes have dire consequences for human health, increasing mortality, morbidity, and occupational health hazards. Heat-health risks are heightened for people who are older, (1,2) have chronic diseases, (3,4) [...]

The article focuses on integrating thermal physiology and biometeorology research to address heat-related illnesses among elite athletes. Topics include the physiological challenges posed by climate change on athletes, the relevance of understanding heat-related issues in sports for broader applications, and the necessity for collaborative strategies involving stakeholders like sports organizations, and medical professionals.

The World Cup is traditionally held oppressive thermal conditions. Therefore, teams should follow heat strain mitigation strategies, including optimal fluid ingestion. The objective of this analysis was to assess and visually communicate match-based World Cup player hydration opportunities and behaviors. Broadcast recordings of the 2018 World Cup (June–July) were analyzed. Descriptive data were reported for match duration, the number, type, and duration of breaks, and player-initiated hydration moments, as well as environmental conditions categorized as 'no thermal stress' and 'thermal heat stress.' The median number and interquartile range of total match breaks were 7 [5–8] during official breaks, with a duration of 42 [23–72] seconds. There were 2 [1–3] player-initiated hydration moments per game, with a duration of 77 [55–100] seconds. On top of the 29% (#126) of breaks in which drinking occurred, an additional 26% (#33) of self-initiated drinking was registered with a duration of 7 [4–28] seconds without an official break. There was no significant difference (P = 0.22) in self-initiated hydration between thermal conditions. Relative percentages showed suboptimal use of substitution (14%) and VAR (38%) breaks vs. injury breaks (75%). In conclusion, football players did not sufficiently use available breaks to hydrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manual outdoor work is essential in many agricultural systems. Climate change will make such work more stressful in many regions due to heat exposure. The physical work capacity metric (PWC) is a physiologically based approach that estimates an individual's work capacity relative to an environment without any heat stress. We computed PWC under recent past and potential future climate conditions. Daily values were computed from five earth system models for three emission scenarios (SSP1‐2.6, SSP3‐7.0, and SSP5‐8.5) and three time periods: 1991–2010 (recent past), 2041–2060 (mid‐century) and 2081–2100 (end‐century). Average daily PWC values were aggregated for the entire year, the growing season, and the warmest 90‐day period of the year. Under recent past climate conditions, the growing season PWC was below 0.86 (86% of full work capacity) on half the current global cropland. With end‐century/SSP5‐8.5 thermal conditions this value was reduced to 0.7, with most affected crop‐growing regions in Southeast and South Asia, West and Central Africa, and northern South America. Average growing season PWC could falls below 0.4 in some important food production regions such as the Indo‐Gangetic plains in Pakistan and India. End‐century PWC reductions were substantially greater than mid‐century reductions. This paper assesses two potential adaptions—reducing direct solar radiation impacts with shade or working at night and reducing the need for hard physical labor with increased mechanization. Removing the effect of direct solar radiation impacts improved PWC values by 0.05 to 0.10 in the hottest periods and regions. Adding mechanization to increase horsepower (HP) per hectare to levels similar to those in some higher income countries would require a 22% increase in global HP availability with Sub‐Saharan Africa needing the most. There may be scope for shifting to less labor‐intensive crops or those with labor peaks in cooler periods or shift work to early morning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT. Increasingly, scholars engage policy makers around fundamental, complex questions on environmental change in interdisciplinary settings. Researchers attempting to develop robust contributions to knowledge that can support policymaker understandings in [...]

Fine-scale personal heat exposure (PHE) information can help prevent or minimize weather-related deaths, illnesses, and reduced work productivity. Common methods to estimate heat risk do not simultaneously account for the intensity, frequency, and duration of thermal exposures, nor do they include inter-individual factors that modify physiological response. This study demonstrates new whole-body net thermal load estimations to link PHE to heat stress and strain over time. We apply a human-environment heat exchange model to examine how time-varying net thermal loads differ across climate contexts, personal attributes, and spatiotemporal scales. First, we investigate summertime climatic PHE impacts for three US cities: Phoenix, Miami, and New York. Second, we model body morphology and acclimatization for three profiles (middle-aged male/female; female >65 years). Finally, we quantify model sensitivity using representative data at synoptic and micro-scales. For all cases, we compare required and potential evaporative heat losses that can lead to dangerous thermal exposures based on (un)compensable heat stress. Results reveal misclassifications in heat stress or strain due to incomplete environmental data and assumed equivalent physiology and activities between people. Heat strain is most poorly represented by PHE alone for the elderly, non-acclimatized, those engaged in strenuous activities, and when negating solar radiation. Moreover, humid versus dry heat across climates elicits distinct thermal responses from the body. We outline criteria for inclusive PHE evaluations connecting heat exposure, stress, and strain while using physiological-based methods to avoid misclassifications. This work underlines the value of moving from "one-size-fits-all" thermal indices to "fit-for-purpose" approaches using personalized information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current shading strategies used to protect outdoor playgrounds from harmful solar radiation include the placement of artificial cloth weaves or permanent roofing over a playground site, planting trees in proximity to playground equipment, and using vegetation or surface texture variations to cool playground surfaces. How and where an artificial shade structure is placed or a tree is planted to maximize the shade protection over specific playground areas, requires careful assessment of local seasonal sun exposure patterns. The Playground Shade Index (PSI) is introduced here as a design metric to enable shade and solar ultraviolet exposure patterns to be derived in an outdoor space using conventional aerial views of suburban park maps. The implementation of the PSI is demonstrated by incorporating a machine learning design tool to classify the position of trees from an aerial image, thus enabling the mapping of seasonal shade and ultraviolet exposure patterns within an existing 7180 m2 parkland. This is achieved by modeling the relative position of the sun with respect to nearby buildings, shade structures, and the identified evergreen and deciduous tree species surrounding an outdoor playground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]