International Journal of Biometeorology最新文献

Extreme climate events have increased in terms of their amplitudes, frequency and severity, greatly affecting ecosystem functions and the balance of the global carbon cycle. However, there are still uncertainties about how extreme climate change will affect tree growth. This study characterized the responses of tree growth to extreme climate on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau from 2000 to 2020. Meanwhile, a back propagation neural network was used to predict tree growth trends under two future emission scenarios from 2020 to 2050. This study revealed that: (1) the tree-ring width index (RWI) showed a decreasing trend (− 0.04/decade) in the eastern region, but the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) showed an increasing trend (0.05/decade) from 2000 to 2020. While both RWI and EVI in the middle and western regions showed increasing trends. (2) The responses of RWI and EVI to extreme climate were regionally asymmetric. In the eastern region, extreme precipitation inhibited tree radial growth, while extreme warm nights promoted tree canopy growth. In two other regions, both extreme precipitation and extreme warm nights promoted tree growth. (3) The model predicts that there was no significant change in RWI and EVI in the western region, but both RWI and EVI showed an increasing trend in the middle and eastern regions under the low emission scenario. Under the high emission scenario, the growth of tree stem and canopy in all three regions shows a general decreasing trend. The results of this study both improved the understanding of the differences in carbon allocation between tree stem (RWI) and canopy (EVI) and identified vulnerability thresholds for tree populations.

This study assessed the impact of various temperature indices, including mean temperature (MT), diurnal temperature range (DTR), and temperature changes between neighboring days (TCN) on hospitalization rates for cardiovascular system diseases among residents of Zhangye City, a typical western city in China. The Quasi-Poisson generalized additive regression model (GAM) in conjunction with a distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) was applied to estimate the association of temperature indices with CVD hospitalization rates in Zhangye City during the periods of 2015–2021. The exposure–response relationship and relative risk were discussed and stratified analyses by age and gender were conducted. We found that the hospitalization rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients in Zhangye City was significantly related to different temperature indicators (MT, DTR, TCN). Both low and high MT, DTR, and TCN increased the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among residents. Besides, different demographic populations exhibited distinct sensitivities to temperature conditions. Relevant authorities should devise corresponding preventive and control measures to protect vulnerable populations.

Great variation was noticed in emergency department (ED) afflux in relation to daily weather conditions, including difficulties in arranging the correct number of orthopaedic on-calls on the floor. This study aimed to quantify the association between the number of patients referred to the orthopaedic team from the ED and weather conditions, particularly daily temperature and rain. Data were obtained from a large state research hospital’s ED attendance. Weather information for the local area for the year was obtained from the regional meteorological office. Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, with one-way analysis of variance for the relationship between the day of the week and patient numbers, the Pearson test for correlations between daily ED patient flow and daily temperature and the Spearman correlation test for correlations between daily patient flow and daily rain status. A positive and meaningful correlation existed between daily patient influx and daily temperature, along with a negative correlation between daily patient flow and daily rain. Throughout the year, significantly more patients were referred to the orthopaedic team on Thursdays than on any other day of the week. Patients tended to visit the ED more on warm days and days without rain. These results may help in organising daily, monthly or seasonal on-call orthopaedic team requirements despite the challenges. Incorporating climate forecasts into planning the on-call service might help alleviate the stress on the team.

This study explores thermal stress conditions (i.e. heat, humidity, sunlight exposure) sports tourists can expect when attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Sports tourism’s growth is driven by international mega-events like FIFA World Cups and Olympic Games. With planning ongoing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup football (soccer) tournament, what remains unstudied are the heat conditions spectators can expect at the 16 host stadiums in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The inquiry is important considering (1) the tournament is taking place in warm-weather months of June and July, (2) thermal stress contributes to heat-related illnesses like heat stroke, and (3) many destination-bound tourists will be at elevated risk to heat. Accordingly, we report historical and forecasted thermal stress levels documenting expected conditions at each host stadium. Notably, forecasts indicate worsening thermal stress compared to long-term means, providing support for the study’s methodology. Practical implications and limitations are provided.

Mitigating Urban Heat Island (UHI) intensity in cities through adaptative strategies has become an urgent need, as UHI are also exacerbated by climate change impacts imputable to anthropogenic actions. This study addresses the need for reliable simulation models to analyze outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) in future or alternative scenarios. The aim of the present study is to contribute to the validation of CFD urban microclimate simulations by employing intra-urban canyon transects as an alternative or a complementary approach to fixed stations. To accomplish this, we developed a cost-effective monitoring unit to carry out transects on a pre-defined route (1), devised the area of interest (2), elaborated a simulation model in ENVI-met (3), and proposed different validation methods for comparative analyses (4). Results indicate that temporal validated simulation tended to underestimate thermal indices in the morning and night and overestimate them in the afternoon, while spatio-temporal validation under a human-centric comfort approach via wearable sensing notably improved accuracy. Moderate to very strong agreement between simulation and measurement data in summer (Willmot’s d ~ 0.70, d ~ 0.81) and very strong agreement in winter (d ~ 0.79, d ~ 0.96), with low error magnitudes in summer (RMSE ~ 0.91℃ and 9.59%, MBE ~ 0.23℃ and 9.10%) have been found. In winter, such figures were RMSE ~ 0.71℃ and 3.51%, MBE ~ 0.00℃ and 0.98%, for the spatio-temporal validated model. This research contributes to enhancing the reliability of relatively affordable CFD urban microclimate simulations, supporting its scale up for policymakers in implementing effective strategies for OTC.

Brazilian livestock provides a significant fraction of the food consumed globally, making the country one of the largest producers and exporters of meat, milk and eggs. However, current advances in the production of protein from Brazilian animal origin may be directly impacted by climate change and the resulting biophysical effects. Therefore, it is strategically consistent to develop measures to deal with the resulting environmental heat stress on domesticated animal species, especially the need in developing countries. This work aims to (1) evaluate the impacts of climate change on livestock (cattle-dairy, cattle-beef, goats, sheep, pigs, poultry-general) in different regions of Brazil and (2) discuss possible response strategies, associated with animal comfort and welfare. From our results, we can draw better strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on livestock production. The results presented show an increase of high heat stress in South and Southeast and an increase of extreme heat stress in North and Central-West areas of Brazil. The rise in extreme heat stress tends to occur mostly during spring and summer and tends to vary considering the different evaluated species. Within the evaluated species, the ones that seem to be more affected by climate changes are Poultry, pigs, cattle-beef and general (temperature-humidity index value). The differences between the results for the five geographic regions in Brazil suggests that different mitigation measures need to be considered to cope with future heat stress in livestock. To ensure the long-term success of Brazil's influence on the global market for proteins of animal origin, it must achieve sustainable production systems more intensively.

The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of heat stress on milk production (test day milk yield) and compositional traits (fat%, protein%, fat yield, protein yield) as well as to observe the pattern of response to increasing heat load on these traits in Jersey crossbred cows, maintained at ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute, Eastern Regional Station, Kalyani, West Bengal, India. The weather information, obtained from the NASA POWER database based on the location of the farm latitude and longitude, was used to calculate the Temperature Humidity Index (THI). To analyze the data, a linear model was fitted to the milk production and compositional records, which were adjusted for additive genetic effect of animal, permanent environmental effect of animals and known environmental sources of variations. Subsequently, a segmented linear regression model was fitted, and the least squares estimates of production and composition traits in different classes of THI were used as the dependent variable. Two THI break-points (BP) for milk yield and one THI BP for fat yield, protein %, and protein yield were found. The first and second BP for milk yield was at THI 59 and 77, respectively, with a significant decline in milk yield of -0.04 kg/unit of THI at second BP. The BP for fat and protein yield was at THI 76, with a decline rate of -1.18 and − 0.61 g/unit of THI increase, respectively. The findings revealed the significant adverse effects of THI on milk production and composition traits in Jersey crossbred cattle.

Although peloidotherapy and ESWT are effective treatments for plantar fasciitis, there is no comprehensive research that directly compares their effectiveness. Our study aimed to compare the effectiveness of ESWT and peloidotherapy on pain, quality of life and functional status in individuals diagnosed with plantar fasciitis (PF). A total of 78 patients, aged between 18 and 65 years, diagnosed with PF after a thorough anamnesis and physical examination and experiencing heel pain for at least 3 months or longer and who presented to the Clinic between January 2021 and January 2023, were included in the study. Patients were randomly allocated to two groups. The peloidotherapy group received 15 sessions of peloid therapy five days a week for three weeks, while the ESWT group received three sessions of radial-type ESWT once a week for three weeks. Additionally, all patients were given a home exercise program. All patients were evaluated three times for treatment efficacy. Pain levels were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Heel Tenderness Index (HTI), functional status and quality of life were assessed using the Foot Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) and Short Form 36 (SF-36), respectively. In both treatment groups, there was a statistically significant improvement in VAS, HTI, FAOS and SF-36 scores at the end of treatment and during the one-month follow-up, compared to the initial baseline values. A statistically significant difference in favor of peloidotherapy was observed in post-treatment symptom and pain scores (p = 0.046). However, this difference did not persist at the one-month follow-up. Both active treatment methods were similarly effective and no superiority was observed between them (p > 0.05). Peloidotherapy and ESWT treatments, along with a home exercise program, were found to be effective for patients with plantar fasciitis. In the conservative treatment of PF, both peloidotherapy and ESWT can be recommended as effective and reliable options.