scholarly journals Extreme Weather Conditions and Cardiovascular Hospitalizations in Southern Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12194
Author(s):  
Iago Turba Costa ◽  
Cassio Arthur Wollmann ◽  
João Paulo Assis Gobo ◽  
Priscilla Venâncio Ikefuti ◽  
Salman Shooshtarian ◽  
...  

This research concerns the identification of a pattern between the occurrence of extreme weather conditions, such as cold waves and heat waves, and hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), in the University Hospital of Santa Maria (HUSM) in southern Brazil between 2012 and 2017. The research employed the field experiment method to measure the biometeorological parameters associated with hospital admissions in different seasons, such as during extreme weather conditions such as a cold wave (CW) or a heat wave (HW), using five thermal comfort indices: physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), new standard effective temperature (SET), predicted mean vote (PMV), effective temperatures (ET), and effective temperature with wind (ETW). The hospitalizations were recorded as 0.775 and 0.726 admissions per day for the winter and entire study periods, respectively. The records for extreme events showed higher admission rates than those on average days. The results also suggest that emergency hospitalizations for heart diseases during extreme weather events occurred predominantly on days with thermal discomfort. Furthermore, there was a particularly high risk of hospitalization for up to seven days after the end of the CW. Further analyses showed that cardiovascular hospitalizations were higher in winter than in summer, suggesting that CWs are more life threatening in wintertime.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junxi Zhang ◽  
Yang Gao ◽  
Kun Luo ◽  
L. Ruby Leung ◽  
Yang Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) was used to study the effect of extreme weather events on ozone in US for historical (2001–2010) and future (2046–2055) periods under RCP8.5 scenario. During extreme weather events, including heat waves, atmospheric stagnation, and their compound events, ozone concentration is much higher compared to non-extreme events period. A striking enhancement of effect during compound events is revealed when heat wave and stagnation occur simultaneously and both high temperature and low wind speed promote the production of high ozone concentrations. In regions with high emissions, compound extreme events can shift the high-end tails of the probability density functions (PDFs) of ozone to even higher values to generate extreme ozone episodes. In regions with low emissions, extreme events can still increase high ozone frequency but the high-end tails of the PDFs are constrained by the low emissions. Despite large anthropogenic emission reduction projected for the future, compound events increase ozone more than the single events by 10 % to 13 %, comparable to the present, and high ozone episodes are not eliminated. Using the CMIP5 multi-model ensemble, the frequency of compound events is found to increase more dominantly compared to the increased frequency of single events in the future over the US, Europe, and China. High ozone episodes will likely continue in the future due to increases in both frequency and intensity of extreme events, despite reductions in anthropogenic emissions of its precursors. However, the latter could reduce or eliminate extreme ozone episodes, so improving projections of compound events and their impacts on extreme ozone may better constrain future projections of extreme ozone episodes that have detrimental effects on human health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Fleischhut ◽  
Stefan M. Herzog ◽  
Ralph Hertwig

AbstractAs climate change unfolds, extreme weather events are on the rise worldwide. According to experts, extreme weather risks already outrank those of terrorism and migration in likelihood and impact. But how well does the public understand weather risks and forecast uncertainty and thus grasp the amplified weather risks that climate change poses for the future? In a nationally representative survey (N = 1004; Germany), we tested the public’s weather literacy and awareness of climate change using 62 factual questions. Many respondents misjudged important weather risks (e.g., they were unaware that UV radiation can be higher under patchy cloud cover than on a cloudless day) and struggled to connect weather conditions to their impacts (e.g., they overestimated the distance to a thunderstorm). Most misinterpreted a probabilistic forecast deterministically, yet they strongly underestimated the uncertainty of deterministic forecasts. Respondents with higher weather literacy obtained weather information more often and spent more time outside but were not more educated. Those better informed about climate change were only slightly more weather literate. Overall, the public does not seem well equipped to anticipate weather risks in the here and now and may thus also fail to fully grasp what climate change implies for the future. These deficits in weather literacy highlight the need for impact forecasts that translate what the weather may be into what the weather may do and for transparent communication of uncertainty to the public. Boosting weather literacy may help to improve the public’s understanding of weather and climate change risks, thereby fostering informed decisions and mitigation support.


Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahin E. Dashtgard ◽  
Ludvig Löwemark ◽  
Pei-Ling Wang ◽  
Romy A. Setiaji ◽  
Romain Vaucher

Shallow-marine sediment typically contains a mix of marine and terrestrial organic material (OM). Most terrestrial OM enters the ocean through rivers, and marine OM is incorporated into the sediment through both suspension settling of marine plankton and sediment reworking by tides and waves under fair-weather conditions. River-derived terrestrial OM is delivered year-round, although sediment and OM delivery from rivers is typically highest during extreme weather events that impact river catchments. In Taiwan, tropical cyclones (TCs) are the dominant extreme weather event, and 75% of all sediment delivered to the surrounding ocean occurs during TCs. Distinguishing between sediment deposited during TCs and that redistributed by tides and waves during fair-weather conditions can be approximated using δ13Corg values and C:N ratios of OM. Lower Pliocene shallow-marine sedimentary strata in the Western Foreland Basin of Taiwan rarely exhibit physical evidence of storm-dominated deposition. Instead they comprise completely bioturbated intervals that transition upward into strata dominated by tidally generated sedimentary structures, indicating extensive sediment reworking under fair-weather conditions. However, these strata contain OM that is effectively 100% terrestrial OM in sediment that accumulated in estimated water depths <35 m. The overwhelming contribution of terrestrially sourced OM is attributed to the dominance of TCs on sedimentation, whereby ~600,000 TCs are estimated to have impacted Taiwan during accumulation of the succession. In contrast, the virtual absence of marine OM indicates that organic contributions from suspension settling of marine OM is negligible regardless of the preserved evidence of extensive reworking under fair-weather conditions. These data suggest that (1) even in the absence of physical expressions of storm deposition, TCs still completely dominate sedimentation in shallow-marine environments, and (2) the organic geochemical signal of preserved shallow-marine strata is not reflective of day-to-day depositional conditions in the environment.


Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijun Liu ◽  
Yuanqiao Wen ◽  
Youjia Liang ◽  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Tiantian Yang

The impact of extreme weather events on the navigation environment in the inland waterways of the Yangtze River is an interdisciplinary hotspot in subjects of maritime traffic safety and maritime meteorology, and it is also a difficult point for the implementation of decision-making and management by maritime and meteorological departments in China. The objective of this study is to review the variation trends and distribution patterns in the periods of adverse and extreme weather events that are expected to impact on inland waterways transport (IWT) on the Yangtze River. The frequency of severe weather events, together with the changes in their spatial extension and intensity, is analyzed based on the ERA-Interim datasets (1979–2017) and the GHCNDEX dataset (1979–2017), as well as the research progresses and important events (2004–2016) affecting the navigation environment. The impacts of extreme weather events on IWT accidents and phenomena of extreme weather (e.g., thunderstorms, lightning, hail, and tornadoes) that affect the navigation environment are also analyzed and discussed. The results show that: (1) the sections located in the plain climate zone is affected by extreme weather in every season, especially strong winds and heat waves; (2) the sections located in the hilly mountain climate zone is affected particularly by spring extreme phenomena, especially heat waves; (3) the sections located in the Sichuan Basin climate zone is dominated by the extreme weather phenomena in autumn, except cold waves; (4) the occurrence frequency of potential flood risk events is relatively high under rainstorm conditions and wind gusts almost affect the navigation environment of the Jiangsu and Shanghai sections in every year; (5) the heat wave indices (TXx, TR, and WSDI) tend to increase and the temperature of the coldest day of the year gradually increases; (6) the high occurrences of IWT accidents need to be emphasized by relevant departments, caused by extreme weather during the dry season; and (7) the trends and the degree of attention of extreme weather events affecting IWT are ranked as: heat wave > heavy rainfall > wind gust > cold spell > storm. Understanding the seasonal and annual frequency of occurrence of extreme weather events has reference significance for regional management of the Yangtze River.


2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis A Saunders ◽  
Peter Mawson ◽  
Rick Dawson

Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo is an endangered species which has undergone a dramatic decline in range and abundance in southwestern Australia. Between October 2009 and March 2010 the species was subjected to a possible outbreak of disease in one of its major breeding areas and exposed to an extremely hot day and a severe localized hail storm. In addition, collisions with motor vehicles are becoming an increasing threat to the species. All of these stochastic events resulted in many fatalities. Species such as Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo which form large flocks are particularly susceptible to localized events such as hail storms, contagious disease and collisions with motor vehicles. Extreme temperatures may have major impacts on both flocking and non-flocking species. Predictions of climate change in the southwest of Western Australia are that there will be an increased frequency of extreme weather events such as heat waves and severe hail storms. The implications of more events of this nature on Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1259
Author(s):  
Rafael Brito Silveira ◽  
Maikon Passos Amilton Alves ◽  
Marcelo Barreiro ◽  
Daniel Pires Bitencourt

Múltiplas partes do globo, possivelmente, passarão a ter dias e noites mais quentes e, com a elevação das temperaturas globais, há tendências de acréscimo do risco de eventos atmosféricos extremos, tais como as ondas de calor. O objetivo principal desse estudo foi verificar as características gerais das ondas de calor nas três capitais da região Sul do Brasil (Curitiba, Florianópolis e Porto Alegre) e também em Montevidéu, capital do Uruguai. Esta análise baseou-se nos parâmetros: frequência, intensidade, duração e suas respectivas tendências. As ondas de calor foram identificadas em uma série de 30 anos de dados diários de temperatura média do ar. As análises de tendência foram averiguadas por meio do teste de Mann-Kendall a um nível de significância de α = 5%. Os resultados mostraram que todos os parâmetros nas quatro cidades apresentam tendências estatisticamente significativas e, com exceção da duração em Montevidéu, todas as demais são positivas. Para além do âmbito das tendências, analisando os parâmetros, comparativamente, conclui-se que Porto Alegre apresenta maior destaque nas médias. Além disto, afirma-se que o inverno é a estação com maior frequência de ondas de calor para todas as cidades.  A B S T R A C TMultiple parts of the globe are likely to have warmer days and nights, and with rising global temperatures, there is a tendency to increase the risk of extreme weather events, such as heat waves. The main objective of this study was to verify the general characteristics of heat waves in the three capitals of southern Brazil (Curitiba, Florianópolis and Porto Alegre) and also in Montevideo, capital of Uruguay. This analysis was based on the parameters: frequency, intensity, duration and their respective trends. Heat waves were identified in a series of 30 years of daily average air temperature data. Trend analyzes were performed using the Mann-Kendall test at a significance level of α = 5%. The results showed that all the parameters in the four cities present statistically significant trends and, except for the duration in Montevideo, all the others are positive. In addition to the scope of the trends, analyzing the parameters, comparatively, it is concluded that Porto Alegre presents greater prominence in the averages. In addition, it is claimed that winter is the season with the highest frequency of heat waves for all cities.Keywords: heat wave, subtropical, capitals, trends, parameters.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Fernando Melo-Velandia ◽  
Camilo Andrés Orozco-Vanegas ◽  
Daniel Parra-Amado

Given the importance of climate change and the increase of its severity under extreme weather events, we analyze the main drivers of high food prices in Colombia between 1985 and 2020 focusing on extreme weather shocks like a strong El Ni˜no.We estimate a non-stationary extreme value model for Colombian food prices. Our findings suggest that perishable foods are more exposed to extreme weather conditions in comparison to processed foods. In fact, an extremely low precipitation level explains only high prices in perishable foods. The risk of high perishable food prices is significantly larger for low rainfall levels (dry seasons) compared to high precipitation levels (rainy seasons). This risk gradually results in higher perishable food prices. It is non linear and is also significantly larger than the risk related to changes in the US dollar-Colombian peso exchange rate and fuel prices. Those covariates also explain high prices for both perishable and processed foods. Finally, we find that the events associated with the strongest El Ni˜no in 1988 and 2016 are expected to reoccur once every 50 years.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Assaf Hochman ◽  
Sebastian Scher ◽  
Julian Quinting ◽  
Joaquim G. Pinto ◽  
Gabriele Messori

Abstract. Skillful forecasts of extreme weather events have a major socio-economic relevance. Here, we compare two complementary approaches to diagnose the predictability of extreme weather: recent developments in dynamical systems theory and numerical ensemble weather forecasts. The former allows us to define atmospheric configurations in terms of their persistence and local dimension, which inform on how the atmosphere evolves to and from a given state of interest. These metrics may be used as proxies for the intrinsic predictability of the atmosphere, which depends exclusively on the atmosphere’s properties. Ensemble weather forecasts inform on the practical predictability of the atmosphere, which primarily depends on the performance of the numerical model used. We focus on heat waves affecting the Eastern Mediterranean. These are identified using the Climatic Stress Index (CSI), which was explicitly developed for the summer weather conditions in this region and differentiates between heat waves (upper decile) and cool days (lower decile). Significant differences are found between the two groups from both the dynamical systems and the numerical weather prediction perspectives. Specifically, heat waves show relatively stable flow characteristics (high intrinsic predictability), but comparatively low practical predictability (large model spread/error). For 500 hPa geopotential height fields, the intrinsic predictability of heat waves is lowest at the event’s onset and decay. We relate these results to the physical processes governing Eastern Mediterranean summer heat waves: adiabatic descent of the air parcels over the region and the geographical origin of the air parcels over land prior to the onset of a heat wave. A detailed analysis of the mid-August 2010 record-breaking heat wave provides further insights into the range of different regional atmospheric configurations conducive to heat waves. We conclude that the dynamical systems approach can be a useful complement to conventional numerical forecasts for understanding the dynamics of Eastern Mediterranean heat waves.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miyeong Jo ◽  
Jiyeun Ye ◽  
Jihye Yun ◽  
Jaeeun You ◽  
Juyeong Kim ◽  
...  

<p>The frequency of extreme weather phenomena such as heat wave and cold wave has increased recently, and the intensity of weather has been strengthened, resulting in human and physical damage. The Republic of Korea has been working to reduce damage since 2018 by including heat and cold waves in natural disasters. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) also provides impact-based forecasts, which requires research that suits local characteristics. In this study, weather observation data related to the summer heat wave in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province was analyzed to determine the weather conditions for the heat wave. In addition, in relation to the heat wave impact-based forecast that was provided regularly in 2019, the heat threshold was applied by comparing the current status of the heat-related patients with the maximum temperature, the number of consecutive days of the heat wave and the current status of the heat-related patients. The impacts of heat waves in different fields were analyzed, including livestock waste, fisheries food damage, and heat damage by crops. The cold wave also analyzed the number of days of cold wave in Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province by comparing the lowest temperature with the current status of cold-related patients. The impacts of cold weather conditions such as wind direction, wind speed and the number of consecutive days of the cold wave were also analyzed. Further, for regular provision of cold wave impact-based forecast to be implemented in 2020, the impacts of each cold wave vulnerable areas suitable for Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province were analyzed and referred to when applying cold wave thresholds.</p>


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