Spatio-temporal modelling of heat stress and climate change implications for the Murray dairy region, Australia

The density of building blocks and insufficient greenery in cities tend to contribute dramatically not only to increased heat stress in the built environment but also to higher energy demand for cooling. Urban planners should, therefore, be conscious of their responsibility to reduce energy usage of buildings along with improving outdoor thermal efficiency. This study examines the impact of numerous proposed urban geometry cases on the thermal efficiency of outer spaces as well as the energy consumption of adjacent buildings under various climate change scenarios as representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 climate projections for New Aswan city in 2035. The investigation was performed at one of the most underutilized outdoor spaces on the new campus of Aswan University in New Aswan city. The potential reduction of heat stress was investigated so as to improve the thermal comfort of the investigated outdoor spaces, as well as energy savings based on the proposed strategies. Accordingly, the most appropriate scenario to be adopted to cope with the inevitable climate change was identified. The proposed scenarios were divided into four categories of parameters. In the first category, shelters partially (25–50% and 75%) covering the streets were used. The second category proposed dividing the space parallel or perpendicular to the existing buildings. The third category was a hybrid scenario of the first and second categories. In the fourth category, a green cover of grass was added. A coupling evaluation was applied utilizing ENVI-met v4.2 and Design-Builder v4.5 to measure and improve the thermal efficiency of the outdoor space and reduce the cooling energy. The results demonstrated that it is better to cover outdoor spaces with 50% of the overall area than transform outdoor spaces into canyons.

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Spatio-temporal modelling of climate-sensitive disease risk: Towards an early warning system for dengue in Brazil

Computers & Geosciences ◽

10.1016/j.cageo.2010.01.008 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 37 (3) ◽

pp. 371-381 ◽

Cited By ~ 86

Author(s):

Rachel Lowe ◽

Trevor C. Bailey ◽

David B. Stephenson ◽

Richard J. Graham ◽

Caio A.S. Coelho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Warning ◽

Early Warning System ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Warning System ◽

Temporal Modelling ◽

Spatio Temporal

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Influence of occupational heat stress on labour productivity – a case study from Chennai, India

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management ◽

10.1108/ijppm-08-2014-0121 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 65 (2) ◽

pp. 245-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jeremiah Chinnadurai ◽

Vidhya Venugopal ◽

Kumaravel P ◽

Paramesh R

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Heat Stress ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Labour Productivity ◽

Productivity Loss ◽

Threshold Limit Value ◽

Control Measures ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Content Type

Purpose – Raise in temperatures due to climate change is likely to increase the heat stress in occupations that are physically exerting and performed outdoors which might potentially have adverse health and productivity consequences. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the productivities in construction work under the influence of heat stress using the predicted mean vote (PMV) index. Design/methodology/approach – Field studies were conducted during May 2014 which is summer time in Chennai. Continuous heart rate of workers and wet bulb globe temperature measurements are conducted for workers engaged in different jobs in construction. Metabolic rates and the workload of the workers from heart rate were calculated using the ISO method 8996 and the PMV values are calculated using the tool developed by Malchaire based on the method ISO 7730. Direct observations and personal interviews were conducted to substantiate the productivity estimations. Findings – The results showed that workers working outdoors with moderate and heavy workload exceeded the threshold limit value of 28°C and had adverse productivity impacts (18-35 per cent productivity loss), whereas the workers engaged in light indoor work was not affected by heat stress and consequent productivity losses. The productivity estimations using the PMV index is found to be statistically significant for three types of construction works (Pearson correlation coefficient value of −0.78) and also correlated well with the observations and self-reported productivities of the workers. Originality/value – The method used in this paper provides a scientific and reliable estimation of the productivities which may benefit the industry to set realistic project completion goals in hot weather and also implement interventions and policies to protect workers’ health. Developing adaptive strategies and implementing control measures are the need of the hour to protect worker’s health and economic losses in the face of climate change.

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Spatio-temporal changes of precipitation in the Hanjiang River Basin under climate change

Theoretical and Applied Climatology ◽

10.1007/s00704-021-03801-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Haoyu Jin ◽

Xiaohong Chen ◽

Ruida Zhong ◽

Pan Wu ◽

Dan Li

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

River Basin ◽

Temporal Changes ◽

Hanjiang River ◽

Spatio Temporal

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Bedeutung des Innenraumklimas und Hitzestress im Zuge des Klimawandels/Importance of indoor climate and heat stress in the era of climate change

Gefahrstoffe ◽

10.37544/0949-8036-2021-07-08-45 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 81 (07-08) ◽

pp. 279-282

Author(s):

Thomas Ackermann ◽

Andreas Matzarakis

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Heat Stress ◽

Indoor Climate ◽

Gesetzliche Vorgaben

Hitzewellen, die in Folge des Klimawandels häufiger, intensiver und länger auftreten werden, führen zu einer Belastung des Menschen, insbesondere in Städten. Die dort befindlichen Gebäude und Flächen heizen sich durch die Sonneneinstrahlung tagsüber auf, kühlen aber im Vergleich zum weniger verdichteten Umland während der Nachtphase geringfügiger ab. Die sich daraus ergebenden langanhaltend hohen Temperaturen wirken sich besonders belastend auf den menschlichen Körper aus und verursachen negative Folgen, wie den Anstieg der Mortalität. Um mit den künftig intensiveren Hitzewellen besser umgehen zu können und um Gesundheitsrisiken zu vermeiden, sollten für städtische Räume und dort vor allem für Innenräume Anpassungsmaßnahmen entwickelt werden. Darüber hinaus sollten Regelungen getroffen werden, die sowohl im Zusammenhang mit dem Energieverbrauch bzw. Wärmeschutz stehen, als auch gesetzliche Vorgaben bezüglich Grenz- und Schwellenwerten berücksichtigen und dabei nicht nur auf der Lufttemperatur beruhen, sondern thermische Indizes, die auf den Wärmeaustausch des Menschen und die thermischen Auswirkungen besser quantitativ beschreiben können.

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A review of intervention methods used to reduce flying-fox mortalities in heat stress events

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am20038 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 137

Author(s):

Matthew Mo ◽

Mike Roache

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Heat Stress ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Evaporative Heat Loss ◽

Temperature And Humidity ◽

Intervention Trials ◽

Individual Scale ◽

The Relationship ◽

Flying Fox

Heat stress events in Australian flying-fox camps have resulted in significant numbers of flying-fox deaths. The frequency and intensity of such events have increased in recent decades, attributed to anthropogenic climate change. Evidence-based interventions are required to address this growing threat. Responders currently use different combinations of a range of intervention methods. We undertook a systematic review of heat stress interventions, which we classified as either ‘camp-scale’ or ‘individual-scale’. Camp-scale interventions included manual and automated misting of roost vegetation, whereas individual-scale interventions included spraying individual animals or removing them for intensive cooling and rehydration procedures. Our study showed that to date, evaluation of the efficacy of heat stress interventions has been largely anecdotal rather than empirical. This highlights the need for dedicated rigorous studies to evaluate the effectiveness of all the intervention methods described here. It will be especially important to understand the relationship between camp temperature and humidity levels and their influence on flying-foxes’ ability to regulate their body temperature, because high relative humidity reduces the ability of mammals to cool themselves using evaporative heat loss. The development of biophysiological measures such as temperature and humidity indices for different flying-fox species would enable meaningful interpretations of intervention trials under controlled conditions.

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Ensemble reconstruction of spatio-temporal extreme low-flow events in France since 1871

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-21-2923-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 2923-2951 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Laurie Caillouet ◽

Jean-Philippe Vidal ◽

Eric Sauquet ◽

Alexandre Devers ◽

Benjamin Graff

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Low Flow ◽

Reference Network ◽

Large Set ◽

Historical Events ◽

Variable Threshold ◽

Matching Procedure ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Temporal Events ◽

Rich Countries

Abstract. The length of streamflow observations is generally limited to the last 50 years even in data-rich countries like France. It therefore offers too small a sample of extreme low-flow events to properly explore the long-term evolution of their characteristics and associated impacts. To overcome this limit, this work first presents a daily 140-year ensemble reconstructed streamflow dataset for a reference network of near-natural catchments in France. This dataset, called SCOPE Hydro (Spatially COherent Probabilistic Extended Hydrological dataset), is based on (1) a probabilistic precipitation, temperature, and reference evapotranspiration downscaling of the Twentieth Century Reanalysis over France, called SCOPE Climate, and (2) continuous hydrological modelling using SCOPE Climate as forcings over the whole period. This work then introduces tools for defining spatio-temporal extreme low-flow events. Extreme low-flow events are first locally defined through the sequent peak algorithm using a novel combination of a fixed threshold and a daily variable threshold. A dedicated spatial matching procedure is then established to identify spatio-temporal events across France. This procedure is furthermore adapted to the SCOPE Hydro 25-member ensemble to characterize in a probabilistic way unrecorded historical events at the national scale. Extreme low-flow events are described and compared in a spatially and temporally homogeneous way over 140 years on a large set of catchments. Results highlight well-known recent events like 1976 or 1989–1990, but also older and relatively forgotten ones like the 1878 and 1893 events. These results contribute to improving our knowledge of historical events and provide a selection of benchmark events for climate change adaptation purposes. Moreover, this study allows for further detailed analyses of the effect of climate variability and anthropogenic climate change on low-flow hydrology at the scale of France.

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