4-9 September 2022, Bonn, Germany
Enter gather.town

OSA2.5

Atmospheric effects on humans

This session “Atmospheric effects on humans” deals with the interactions between atmospheric conditions and humans beings in an interdisciplinary manner. The core question is how atmospheric conditions impact the well-being and health of humans, and how to transfer such knowledge in a widely understandable way in order to ensure the appropriate use of such kind of information. Atmospheric conditions include transient ones driven by weather patterns and long-term climatology but as well how potential climate change trends may affect these interactions.

In this context, the session will address issues concerning health, warning systems and measures in place to mitigate adverse impacts, and the models used to evaluate the heat load and cold stress on organisms. This will include the thermal component from the environment, weather sensitivity, actinic and chemical components of stress factors. Modelling studies and experimental studies on how environmental management, urban planning and design or traffic regulation can improve living conditions and decrease emissions are particularly welcome.

In addition, the session will consider the impacts of weather processes on human well-being and health. Since several methods are in use to compile bio-weather forecasts, we are looking forward to discussing such approaches and the way to convey such information to the public, but also to special target groups. Another aim is to describe ways, how climate data and information should be transferred and addressed for issues on tourism, recreation and other economic sectors.

The session will also address efforts to combine different environmental impacts on humans into one single index, as it is well known that humans react to the whole mix of atmospheric stimuli. Our aim is to improve the requested information and to look for more efficient ways of conveying the message on a regular basis in order to enable citizens to make the best use of such information in their everyday activities.

Including Tromp Foundation Travel Award to Young Scientists
Conveners: Andreas Matzarakis, Tanja Cegnar | Co-conveners: Fiorella Acquaotta, Sorin Cheval
Orals
| Fri, 09 Sep, 11:00–15:15 (CEST)|Room HS 7
Posters
| Attendance Fri, 09 Sep, 09:00–10:30 (CEST) | Display Thu, 08 Sep, 08:00–Fri, 09 Sep, 14:00|b-IT poster area

Fri, 9 Sep, 09:00–10:30

EMS2022-624
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Onsite presentation
Martin Novak and Martin Hynčica

The UTCI (Universal Thermal Climate Index) combines selected meteorological elements (air temperature, wind, humidity, and radiation) into a single value (in °C) describing level of thermal stress on humans. Computation of UTCI is implemented in several datasets, comparison of two of which is presented here. The ALADIN is NWP (numerical weather prediction) model commonly used for forecasting; operational calculation of UTCI has started in 2019. In contrast, the ERA5 reanalysis is based on observed data spanning period from 1979 to 2021. Therefore, the aim here is a comparison of datasets different in their nature: meteorological model with reanalysis. Results can also be interpreted as a verification of UTCI in ALADIN. The analysis is conducted for years 2019 and 2020 due to the availability of data. After interpolation of both datasets on the same regular grid (resolution is 7.1 km) covering the Czech Republic, datasets are compared from both temporal and spatial perspectives. Subtraction of UTCI between ERA5 and ALADIN is made at every gridpoint in hourly step. Hourly differences are consequently aggregated in daily, monthly, and seasonally step. Considering seasonally and monthly differences, no substantial changes are evident; interesting results emerge when analyzing single hourly data (00-24): it is shown that the UTCI in ALADIN is overestimated in the morning (1-2 °C) whereas the opposite is found for the afternoon and early evening (1-3 °C) in all seasons.. Spatial differences are, however, mostly small at majority of gridpoints, although underestimation of UTCI in ALADIN is detected in higher altitudes (above 500/600 m), where differences at some gridpoints reach up to 6.5 °C. Differences are inherent to orography, owing to coarse grid resolution of ERA5 (30 km) compared to ALADIN (2.3 km). Flattened orography mask in ERA5 reflects in larger differences in higher altitudes.

How to cite: Novak, M. and Hynčica, M.: Comparison of UTCI between the ERA5 reanalysis and the ALADIN model for Czechia, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-624, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-624, 2022.

Orals

11:00–11:15
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EMS2022-37
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Onsite presentation
Andreas Matzarakis

After the heat waves in the year 2003 and the statements of IPCC about the increase and the related consequences several countries in Europe decided to develop or implement a Heat Health Warning System (HHWS) and provide information for general public and public health. In Germany, weather Forecast is used to predict heat episodes, which are associated with negative health impacts. Therefore, a heat balance model of the human body and an extracted equivalent temperature (Perceived Temperature) is applied. Thresholds for strong and extreme heat stress based on thermal perception classification are used and build the first approach of the HHWS. Furthermore, the threshold of strong heat stress includes a short term adaptation component and considers the previous thermal stress conditions of the last 30 days. The second step includes nocturnal conditions, based on forecasted minimum air temperature or a simulated maximum indoor temperature for typical houses. The indoor temperature is calculated also based on a urban heat model for cities with a population over 100.000 inhabitants. Both criteria are important for the decision about warnings for the present and next days. Warnings are generated by daily weather forecast automatically and are additionally confirmed or adjusted by a biometeorological forecaster. The warning is valid on county level considering several elevation classes. The heat warning is available as a map on the internet and registered users can receive information by a daily newsletter. A specific smartphone app is also available for general use. The main target groups are the public, nursing homes and ministries of the federal states and other authorities. The HHWS is in operation since 2005 and preliminary studies indicate a reduction of the heat related mortality after implementation.  The HHWS with his regional differentiation of heat stress warnings is also part of the heat health action plans in Germany.

How to cite: Matzarakis, A.: Heat Health Warning System in Germany - New Developments and Lessons Learned, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-37, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-37, 2022.

11:15–11:30
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EMS2022-9
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Onsite presentation
Sally Jahn and Elke Hertig

Air pollution is repeatedly referred to as the largest environmental health risk in Europe. Exposure to heat can lead to a large variety of negative human health effects. Ground-level ozone (O3), one major air pollutant, often coincides with elevated air temperature levels. There is evidence that the resulting twofold exposure can lead to a human health risk beyond the sum of the individual effects of each health stressor (e.g., Hertig et al. 2020). But previous studies already point to the fact that the observed and modeled linkages between both variables as well as with underlying synoptic and meteorological drivers vary with the location of sites and from one region to another across Europe (e.g., Jahn, Hertig 2020; Jahn, Hertig 2022). Thus, impacts of concurrent elevated levels of O3 and air temperate on human health need to be considered with a region-specific perspective. Besides, disease-specific exposure-outcome-relationships have to be taken into account, also with respect to mitigation and adaption strategies in the context of climate change.

The adverse human health effects of ground-level ozone and air temperature under recent and future climate conditions are analyzed and quantified by considering myocardial infarction (MI) as outcome variable. The urban area of Augsburg and two adjacent counties, located in a region with a strong and direct linkage between ozone and air temperature and a sharp projected increase of compound events, represent the regional focus. The association between both exposures and MI risk in Augsburg throughout the 21st century represents the particular focus of this study. The relationship between one health stressor alone and MI was already assessed in previous studies (e.g., Hertig 2020; Chen et al. 2019), but there is only limited evidence about the compound effect of both exposures on MI.

Chen, K.; Breitner, S.; Wolf, K.; Hampel, R.; Meisinger, C.; et al. (2019) Temporal variations in the triggering of myocardial infarction by air temperature in Augsburg, Germany, 1987-2014. Eur Heart J.  doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehz116

Hertig, E. (2020) Health-relevant ground-level ozone and temperature events under future climate change using the example of Bavaria, Southern Germany. Air Qual Atmos Health. doi: 10.1007/s11869-020-00811-z

Hertig, E.; Russo, A.; Trigo, R. (2020) Heat and ozone pollution waves in Central and South Europe- characteristics, weather types, and association with mortality. Atmosphere. doi: 10.3390/atmos11121271

Jahn, S.; Hertig, E. (2022) Using clustering, statistical modeling, and climate change projections to analyze recent and future region-specific compound ozone and temperature burden over Europe. GeoHealth. Submitted.

Jahn, S.; Hertig, E. (2020) Modeling and projecting health‐relevant combined ozone and temperature events in present and future Central European climate. Air Qual Atmos Health. doi: 10.1007/s11869‐020‐009610

How to cite: Jahn, S. and Hertig, E.: Relationships of compound temperature-ozone pollution-events with myocardial infarction (MI) frequencies in Augsburg, Southern Germany, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-9, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-9, 2022.

11:30–11:45
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EMS2022-29
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Onsite presentation
Stevan Savić et al.

Extreme temperature events driven by climate change have been recognized as an important concern for the public health, and these threats have been particularly identified in rapidly growing urban settlements around the world. The impact of extremely hot and cold weather, as well as seasonal air temperature changes are associated with increased mortality and hospitalization, especially due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between different biometeorology conditions, using outdoor theramal comfort (OTC) indices and cardiovascular/respiratory hospital admissions over a multi-year period in Novi Sad, Serbia. We used the following datasets: a) three-year data of OTC indices (Physiological Equivalent Temperature - PET and Mean Radiant Temperature - Tmrt) calculated on the basis of meteorological datasets of the Novi Sad Urban Network (NSUNET); b) cardiovascular/respiratory hospital admissions for 2016-2017; and c) emergency cardiovascular admissions for the 2015-2017 period.

The main goal of our research is to point out that the OTC indices can more comprehensively represent thermal risks to human health or quality of life because in addition to air temperature, they include other meteorological elements (humidity, wind, radiation), which directly affect people. Therefore, OTC indices should be part of urban monitoring networks and prediction and early warning systems that provide heat risk and hazard assessment. Furtheremore, the study outcomes show that hospital admissions pick during summer heat waves, with a time lag from 0 to 3 days. Finally, during very intensive heat waves, the emergency cardiovascular admission picks and reaches about 27% higher value compared to summer season average admission value.

Acknowledgement: The research was supported by the project (number 142-451-2557/2021) financed by the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (regional government).

How to cite: Savić, S., Lužanin, Z., Arsenović, D., Milošević, D., and Dunjić, J.: Cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions during different outdoor thermal conditions in urban areas – A case study of Novi Sad (Serbia), EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-29, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-29, 2022.

11:45–12:00
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EMS2022-191
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Onsite presentation
Chloé Vésier and Aleš Urban

Because of climate change, summer temperatures are predicted to rise and heat waves to be more recurrent, including in Central Europe. It is important to understand heat-related risks on human mortality and to identify inequalities in vulnerability among the population, such as sex and gender inequalities. In this study, the associations between daily temperature and mortality during the five warmest months of the year (from May to September) have been analysed in the Czech Republic for the period 1995–2019. The primary focus of the analysis was on the differences in the associations by sex, i.e., between men and women. These two categories were further divided by age, marital status, residence’s location and cause of death. Mortality time series have been modelled by a quasi-Poisson regression model with a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) to account for the delayed and non-linear effects of temperature on mortality. The heat-related mortality risks obtained in each population group were expressed in terms of risk at the 99th percentile of summer temperature relative to the minimum mortality temperature.

The results showed that women were more at risk to die because of heat than men. With regard to age, the highest risk for men was observed between 75 to 84 years old, while risk for women was higher for women above 85 years old. Risks among married people were lower than risks among single, divorced and widowed people, and risks in divorced women were significantly higher than in divorced men. Thus, this study showed that social and demographic criteria impacted the heat vulnerability and in particular, results highlighted the important role of sex and gender inequalities in heat-related mortality. Deeper studies on these social drivers would be relevant to design efficient and fair mitigation and adaptation strategies.

How to cite: Vésier, C. and Urban, A.: Gender inequalities in heat-related mortality in the Czech Republic, 1995-2019, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-191, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-191, 2022.

12:00–12:15
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EMS2022-495
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Tromp Foundation Travel Award to Young Scientists
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Onsite presentation
Andrea Novaro et al.

The HUS (Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome) is a disease that mainly affects children, it is a complication of an infection by shiga toxin produced by Eschirichia-coli (STEC) infection. It shows a seasonal nature with lower incidence in the cold period, it is endemic in central Europe and North America but fairly rare. In the high incidence period, from April to October, cases appear in time related clusters, usually not epidemic, in fact they are unrelated for spatially distance or caused by different serotypes. It suggests the role of the weather conditions  as a hot gun.  Attempting to predict by weather conditions the temporal and spatial distribution of the illness could prevent its severity and reduce the damage like kidney failure, disability or worse. 

Past climate study (Acquaotta, et al. 2017) suggests a correlation between the heat waves and infection clusters, for example three or more very hot consecutive days increase the risk of disease. Also the epidemiological study of Biggeri and his Collaborations (personal communication) have analyzed the spatial aggregation of illness in Lombardy (North Italian region) to show the areas with a higher or lower risk of infection. 

In this research the study area is the Lombardy plain with 249 selected cases from 2010 to 2020, 11 years. Two are the main goals: the first is to perform a climate characterisation of the high risk zone in Lombardy, highlighted by Biggeri and his Collaborations. The second is to identify the relationship between infection and extreme precipitation events. 

To analyse the climate peculiarities of Lombardy we used 88 weather series from ARPA (Regional Environmental Protection Agency) Lombardy with an homogeneous distribution in the area. On the daily weather series a quality control was carried out to identify some error in the data. Then a hierarchical cluster analysis by mean of the Ward.d2 method was applied to identify the climate areas. On the daily data, climate indices created by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI) were calculated: daily precipitation intensity (SDII), consecutive dry days (CDD), very wet days (R95p) and standard precipitation index (SPI) to show the drought period.

The distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) was used to examine the relationship between precipitation series and daily illness during January 2010 to December 2020 (Bai et al. 2014;) with a maximum lag of 30 days in order to ensure a greater coverage. The infection dataset was also compared with four climate indices in order to highlight. The linear regression between indices and infections was then calculated. The trends were computed using the TheilSen approach (TSA) (Sen 1968).

How to cite: Novaro, A., Baronetti, A., Ardissino, G., and Acquaotta, F.: The association between precipitation and the spread of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infection in Lombardy, North of Italy, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-495, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-495, 2022.

12:15–12:30
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EMS2022-606
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Onsite presentation
Felix Ament et al.

Convincing commuters to use a bike for their daily trips is a timely contribution to reach sustainable development goals. In public discussions, bad weather is frequently raised as argument limiting the usability of cycling on an everyday basis. Looking at objective meteorological observations, how often does a typical commuter in an urban environment experiences bad weather while cycling? And can smart cyclists being informed by nowcasting and day-ahead forecasts effectively reduce the number of bad weather rides?

To answer these two key questions of this study, we analyze a huge ensemble of randomly drawn routes and assess the meteorological comfort of each ride by a threshold-based traffic light scheme. We chose temperature, wind, and precipitation as meteorological parameters indicating bad weather for cyclist. Observations are derived both from classical weather stations and from experimental novel urban observation systems: We explore the potential of a high-resolution X-band precipitation radar and of the dense station network (103 stations) during the FESST@HH campaign, which are both available at our study region, the city of Hamburg in northern Germany.

Most frequently we observe discomfort caused by temperature with a probability of 33%. Wind and precipitation discomfort occur only at 6% and 7% of the rides. Being slightly flexible in terms of riding times and being informed by a perfect nowcasting forecast is a very effective approach to reduce the risk to experience rain by a factor of two. Day ahead forecasts by operational ensemble systems provides an almost perfect guidance concerning temperature but the limited predictability of precipitation and wind renders these forecasts only useful for riders with a high risk awareness and small sensitivity to false alarms. In conclusions, this presentation indicates that weather is not severely limiting biking commuters and highlights the potential of guidance from weather observations and forecasts to reduce the risk experiencing bad weather during a ride.   

How to cite: Ament, F., Schmitt, A., Burgemeister, F., Dorff, H., Finn, T., Hansen, A., Kirsch, B., Lange, I., and Radtke, J.: Assessing the weather conditions for urban cyclists by spatially dense measurements, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-606, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-606, 2022.

12:30–12:45
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EMS2022-63
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Onsite presentation
David Schultz

The belief that weather influences people’s health has been prevalent for millennia. Recent studies on the relationship between weather and pain for those who suffer from chronic pain remain indeterminate, with some studies finding strong effects and others finding no effects; most studies face limitations to their study design or dataset size. To address these limitations, a U.K.-wide smartphone study Cloudy with a Chance of Pain was conducted over 15 months with 10,584 citizen scientists who suffer from chronic pain, producing the largest dataset both in duration and number of participants. Compared to other similar citizen-science studies, our retention of participants was substantially better, with 15% still entering data nearly every day after 200 days.  This presentation describes the study, the data collection, and results of this project, revealing the strongest evidence to date of the effect of weather upon pain in weather-sensitive individuals.

Analysis of the dataset using synoptic climatology and compositing revealed the daily weather associated with a prevalence of high pain and low pain across the population. Specifically, our results indicate that the top 10% of days with a high percentage of participants (about 20%) experiencing a pain event (represented here by a +1 change or greater in their pain level on a 5-point scale; referred to as a high-pain day) were associated with below-normal pressure, above-normal humidity, higher precipitation rate, and stronger wind. In contrast, the bottom 10% of days with a small percentage of participants (about 10%) experiencing a pain event (a low-pain day) were associated with above-normal pressure, below-normal humidity, lower precipitation rate, and weaker wind. Thus, these synoptic weather patterns support the beliefs of many participants who said that low pressure—and its accompanying weather—was associated with a pain event.

S. W. Tromp Foundation Award Winner 2020: Outstanding Achievement in Biometeorology

How to cite: Schultz, D.: Cloudy With a Chance of Pain: A Citizen Science Project to Understand How Weather Affects Pain, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-63, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-63, 2022.

12:45–13:00
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EMS2022-442
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Tromp Foundation Travel Award to Young Scientists
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Onsite presentation
Marcel Gangwisch and Andreas Matzarakis

Global climate change is increasingly threatening our life in cities due to intensified heat waves and is thereby stressing the resilience of our cities and our society. Multiple descriptions of action plans (e.g., Sustainable development goals, Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 – 2030 and Heat-health action plans), reflect the public awareness of these threats with the demand for action. Local administrations must implement long-term but also short-term adaptation measures, to increase the thermal resilience of our cities to protect the urban population, especially the vulnerable group.

This contribution will demonstrate how meteorological observations from traverse measurement campaigns, reflecting the urban heat island effect, can be utilized in the aforementioned action plans.

The observations are comprehensively preprocessed to generalize from prevailing weather conditions to observe the typical, thermal response of the urban morphology for authochtonous weather conditions during heat waves. Absolute values of meteorological conditions are no longer considered, as they are mapped to a relative and normalized scale. A subsequently fitted, Generalized Additive Model, considering the local urban structures (gray and green infrastructure), provides this information spatially for the entire urban area. The spatial prediction can be combined with local risk and protection factors (location of vulnerable facilities (e.g., hospitals, nursing homes, kindergartens) and protective infrastructure (e.g., drinking fountains)) to create a valuable tool for short-term protection of vulnerable and exposed populations during a heat wave.

The short-term adaptation (for days) mainly addresses the people's behavior with respect to heat and is often implemented by information and warning systems. The German Meteorological Service operates a national heat warning system at community level based on the forecasts of the ICON-EU model (~6.5km, < 72h). The official heat warnings are derived from perceived temperature for severe and extreme heat and are statistically related to heat mortality. Based on the previously, generalized results, a specific heat warning system on city level (e.g., city of Karlsruhe) is implemented upon the national heat health warning system. The specific warning system is coupled to the national system and provides small-scale warnings and information for short-term adaptation under consideration of spatially resolved vegetation and urban structures. These warnings provide valuable recommendations of action for vulnerable and exposed people on urban district level in a citizen-oriented manner via the municipal systems.

How to cite: Gangwisch, M. and Matzarakis, A.: Specific and localized heat warning system built upon normalized analysis of the UHI for the city of Karlsruhe – Results of GreenLung project, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-442, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-442, 2022.

14:00–14:15
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EMS2022-185
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CC
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Online presentation
Christos Giannaros et al.

Situated in the eastern Mediterranean basin, Greece is identified as a climate change hotspot, characterized by pronounced increasing trends in temperature extremes and heat stress. People accommodated in cities are particularly at heat-related risk due to the amplifying impact of the built-up environment in the human thermal comfort conditions. Recent studies highlight the applicability of the local climate zone (LCZ) concept in investigating the diversified heat exposure within cities. For this, in the frame of the ADAPT2CC research project, the current study presents the first attempt at introducing the LCZ framework into a multi-scale numerical modeling system for examining the urban climate and thermal bioclimate in the Athens urban area (AUA), Greece, before, during and after an extreme heat wave (HW) episode that occurred during July and August of 2021. The modeling system is based on the online coupling between the state-of-the-art Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and the advanced urban scheme BEP/BEM (Building Energy Parameterization/Building Energy Model). Further, the system is coupled offline with the RayMan Pro model for assessing the heat stress conditions in a physiologically consistent manner. The performance of the modeling system is evaluated against ground-based and satellite observations, with the results demonstrating a high capability of the system in reproducing the meteorological and human-biometeorological conditions during the examined period (July 25 to August 08, 2021). The numerical atmospheric analysis underlines the important contribution of physical factors (altitude) and background atmospheric circulations (sea breeze and Etesians) to the spatiotemporal variation of the urban temperatures under both non-HW and HW conditions. Concerning the heat stress conditions, the use of the modified physiologically equivalent temperature (mPET) is suitable for human-biometeorological analysis especially during HW days, when increased solar radiation and low wind speeds prevail. Overall, the long-lasting heat wave of July-August, 2021, put a great heat stress burden to the AUA population, especially in the south and central regions of the study area. In the course of a typical sea breeze day under HW conditions, the local atmospheric circulation lead to lower temperature and mPET values in the south areas of Athens compared to the city’s central regions across all LCZs. However, this cooling effect is not effective to also result in a more comfortable human thermal perception (i.e., from very hot to hot). This outcome, as well as the whole set of results of the study, could be very useful for urban design applications aiming at mitigating the impact of heat waves and urban heat in AUA.

How to cite: Giannaros, C., Agathangelidis, I., Papavasileiou, G., Galanaki, E., Kotroni, V., Lagouvardos, K., Giannaros, T. M., Cartalis, C., and Matzarakis, A.: A holistic study of the urban climate and thermal bioclimate before, during and after the extreme heat wave of July-August, 2021, in the Athens urban area in Greece, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-185, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-185, 2022.

14:15–14:30
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EMS2022-8
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CC
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Onsite presentation
Si-Yu Yu et al.

Sport has been such a popular issue that draws public concerns regarding the health and the better living quality for many years all over the world. With the unavoidable impacts from global warming and exacerbated extreme weather events, the tougher outdoor thermal condition and the arising heat stress risk were no doubt becoming essential tasks especially for outdoor sport events where many staffs, volunteers, athletes and audiences gathered at an open outdoor venue at the same period of time. For better understanding the thermal environment and thermal comfort especially for outdoor sports, 2021 National Intercollegiate Athletic Games held at Tainan, souther Taiwan, has been selected as the research target. And with the concerns related to the COVID-19 epidemic, the Game has been delayed from May to October, 2021. In this assessment, both Taiwan Climate Change Projection Information and Adaptation Knowledge Platform (TCCIP) Taiwan ReAnalysis Downscaling data (TReAD), and on site real-time environmental monitoring data (Temperature, Relative Humidity, Wind Speed, PM2.5, Sky View Factor), were applied in estimating mPET (modified Physiologically Equivalent Temperature) and WBGT (Wet-bulb Globe Temperature) for members participating the torch relay around Taiwan in April, and the delayed Game in October. In this study, we also collected questionnaires from the staffs, volunteers, athletes and audiences participating the Game for detailed analysis the connection between the environmental condition and physical sensation. The influences of the built environment and the strategies for heat mitigation are also discussed in this study.

Keywords: 2021 Taiwan National Intercollegiate Athletic Games; Thermal Comfort; RayMan Pro; TReAD; mPET; WBGT; Thermal Risk Assessment; Hot-Humid Climate.

How to cite: Yu, S.-Y., Matzarakis, A., and Lin, T.-P.: Thermal comfort and heat stress assessment for the torch relay around Taiwan and the delayed 2021 National Intercollegiate Athletic Games, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-8, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-8, 2022.

14:30–14:45
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EMS2022-62
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Online presentation
Hsing-Yu Ou and Tzu-Ping Lin

In recent years, climate change and the urban heat island effect have caused extreme heat and thermal discomfort in the city. To adapt to this extreme condition, shading is one of the adaptation strategies. Effective shade can protect people from excessive solar radiation, improve outdoor thermal comfort and encourage people to engage in outdoor activities. Therefore, several countries have developed shading policies including constructing shading devices such as shaded walkways and increasing tree shades. For shading facilities, the orientation and dimensions are key factors affecting thermal comfort beneath them. However, it is rarely discussed in past studies and isn’t particularly specified in the government policies. Therefore, the objective of this research is to understand the relationship between the orientation and dimensions of outdoor shading devices and thermal comfort to provide references for policy-making and design.

This research applies the Ladybug tool to calculate the physical equivalent temperature (PET) under various dimensions and orientations of two basic types of outdoor shading devices, the independent and the attached, during summer days. The effect of the dimensions on thermal comfort is evaluated with the effective aspect ratio.

The results show that the lower the effective aspect ratio, the higher the average PET and the discomfort rate (the percentage of time with PET over 34℃) during summer days. The discomfort rate can be reduced to less than 5% when the effective ratio of shading devices is above 1.8. The orientation of shading devices also affects PET. For independent shading devices, the average PET and discomfort ratio in the N-S orientation is the highest and the E-W orientation is the lowest, while the attached type is the highest in the west and the lowest in the north. In addition, this study finds regression equations for the average PET of shading devices in summer with the effective aspect ratio as a parameter. Moreover, this study organizes the results into a reference table so users can easily understand the PET discomfort rate of shading devices in different dimensions and orientations.

This research provides valuable information for the government to develop shading policies, assist designers to design comfort shading devices, and predicts thermal comfort levels under shading devices in various dimensions and orientation.

How to cite: Ou, H.-Y. and Lin, T.-P.: The effects of orientation and dimensions of outdoor shading devices on thermal comfort, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-62, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-62, 2022.

14:45–15:00
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EMS2022-101
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Online presentation
Ching-Yin Cheng et al.

Taiwan had become an aging society and its population ageing is increasing in recent years. It is estimated that Taiwan will become super-aged society by 2050. In view of demographic shift, raising temperature due to climate change, and elders are more sensitive to weather difference, elderly building is becoming a trend in building market and there are more researches focusing on elderly living environment and thermal comfort lately. Living environment should have good and comfortable space for the health of elderly. However, building design often lacks climate assessment. Previous studies have focused more on indoor spaces and less on outdoor thermal comfort. In this research, a new elderly housing was studied to explored the outdoor design suitable for elderly by analyzing outdoor thermal comfort.

The new elderly housing under study is being built in Tainan city, Taiwan for people aged 55 or older, and is estimated to be completed in 2023. This project is supported by Taiwan Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs. Tainan city is located in south of Taiwan and has a hot and humid subtropical climate. The average annual temperature is around 24℃, and the average daytime temperature in July is about 33℃. This study used ENVI-met and Typical Meteorological Year, version 3 (TMY3) to simulate the outdoor thermal comfort. In addition, this study established three temperature and humidity measurement points within a 500m radius of the building site to record long term data, and also monitored microclimate on site during each season, including temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction and global radiation. The measured data were compared with the data from the Tainan meteorological station located in the city center, and thereafter the effects of different scenarios on outdoor thermal comfort were analyzed by simulating and comparing the data. The results showed that the temperature trend in the region is close to that of the Tainan meteorological station, but the average temperature is higher than 1-2℃. Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) is affected by the shadow of the building, and the result can be improved by 3-4℃ PET by adjusting the configuration. The result of this study suggested that outdoor space configuration should take building shading and climate into account during the design phase, and provide recommendations for outdoor thermal comfort for the elderly. In the future, user surveys could be conducted after the building is completed.

How to cite: Cheng, C.-Y., Chen, C.-Y., Hung, K.-A., and Lin, T.-P.: Outdoor thermal comfort assessment and environmental design scenario analysis for elderly building, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-101, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-101, 2022.

15:00–15:15
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EMS2022-71
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Onsite presentation
Michal Lehnert et al.

Climate change becomes more evident even in the generally mild climate of Central Europe. Analyses based on long-term temperature observations have confirmed growing numbers of hot days and nights and an increasing frequency of heat waves. In response to this risk, municipalities seek and invest into climate adaptation measures. However, the implemented measures are often inadequate or inefficient. In this study, we focus on the analyses of the effect of blue and green features to reduce heat stress in open public spaces in city centres; our research is conducted in collaboration with local representatives of four Czech cities of Brno, Olomouc, Ostrava and Pilsen. We selected representative locations in each of the four city centres as field measurement sites for air temperature, humidity, wind velocity and globe temperature during hot days. Based on our measurements the UTCI values in five-minute steps were calculated. At the same time, we conducted extensive questionnaire surveys of thermal comfort perceived by passers-by in each of the investigated locations. Our results show that in studied cities, trees within open areas of the city centre lead to a decrease in UTCI by 5–8°C during daytime in tree shade compared to sunlit paved areas. Irrigated and regularly cut lawns in open areas of the city centres cause a decrease of 0–1°C compared to sunlit paved areas. Small features of blue infrastructure (fountains, misting systems etc.) in open areas of the city centre lead to changes in UTCI in the range of −2.5 to +1.0°C, depending on the time of day and on the character of the water feature. Sprinkling the open areas (city squares) with water from tank trucks during heat waves lowers the UTCI by 1–3°C, yet this effect lasts only around 20 minutes (depending on air temperature and air flow). Influence of small water sprinklers and misting systems on the microclimate in distances exceeding 0.5 m from the given water feature was inconclusive. Finally, the results suggest a highly complex relationship between biometeorological indices and thermal sensation vote (TSV) in urban environments − open grassy areas exhibit a lower probability of higher TSV, on the other hand, the probability of higher TSV is higher under trees and near sprayed water-mist.

How to cite: Lehnert, M., Geletič, J., Jurek, M., and Brabec, M.: Effect of blue and green features on thermal exposure and thermal sensation in Czech cities, EMS Annual Meeting 2022, Bonn, Germany, 5–9 Sep 2022, EMS2022-71, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2022-71, 2022.

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