Study of the Landscape Pattern of Shuiyu Village in Beijing, China: A Comprehensive Analysis of Adaptation to Local Microclimate

The paper used technical parameters to investigate optimized solutions to protect the ecological environment and improve the microclimate adaptability among the traditional villages in Beijing. Shuiyu Village was used as a case study to analyze the coupling relationship between landscape patterns and the microclimate of traditional villages, with a focus on the ecological relationship between residents and the microclimate. This study also developed a climate index system, which includes computer numerical simulation and microclimate comprehensive analysis methods. The distinct types of landscape patterns were studied using the system. In addition, this paper studied the adaptive design mechanism in-depth, the form parameters of comfort evaluation controllability, and map expression technology of morphological parameters. The findings of this study include the optimized value of the environment based on landscape pattern and the map through the Rhino modeling platform. An interactive platform was developed, and a parametric-assisted optimization design process for traditional villages in the northern part of China was proposed. Moreover, this study concluded optimized strategies and technical guidelines for future planning of the rural areas in northern China with a goal to protect traditional villages and transform them into smart villages with microclimate adaptability.

The role of TCI and TCCI indexes in regional tourism planning

Podunavlje region in Serbia comprises 16.6% of the territory and 38.9% of the total population of the country. Due to its attractive natural values, cultural-historical monuments, ethnographic features, etc., Serbian Podunavlje has favorable conditions for the development of excursion, nautical, stationary, event, youth, rural, hunting, transit, and other kinds of tourism. Since the climate as a tourism resource and the factor of tourist migrations in the observed area has not been analyzed yet, the aim of this paper is the tourism valorization of the significance of climate using the two tourism climatic indexes: tourism climate index (TCI) and tourism climate comfort index (TCCI). To achieve it, the climate elements were first analyzed at five meteorological stations in Serbian Podunavlje: Sombor, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Veliko Gradište, and Negotin for the period 1990–2010. Then the periods favorable for tourism activities were determined according to the mentioned indexes at the given stations. The research results show that summer is certainly the most favorable season for tourism activities in the observed area since the maximum TCI values were recorded during summer, and the minimum ones during winter at all the stations. Regarding the TCCI, the most optimal values of this index were recorded in September and May. These results can further serve the tourism organizations in the municipalities in Serbian Podunavlje when considering the construction of the tourism infrastructure, marketing activities, and further affirmation of the resources for the purpose of sustainable development of tourism.

Thermal Conditions and Hospital Admissions: Analysis of Longitudinal Data from Cyprus (2009–2018)

The state of the thermal environment can affect human health and well-being. Heat stress is associated with a wide range of health outcomes increasing morbidity and mortality and is recognized as an important health risk posed by climate change. This study aims at examining the effect of thermal conditions on the daily number of hospital admissions in Cyprus. Data from eight public hospitals located in five districts of Cyprus were analyzed from 2009 to 2018. Meteorological hourly gridded data were extracted by the ERA-5 Land reanalysis database with a spatial horizontal resolution of 0.1° × 0.1°. The Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) were calculated as measures of the integrated effect of meteorological variables. Negative binomial regression was fitted to examine associations between the daily number of hospital admissions and meteorological variables, PET, and UTCI. The results showed that the mean daily temperature (Tair) was positively associated with hospital admissions from any cause. Hospital admissions increased by 0.6% (p < 0.001) for each 1 °C increase of Tair and by 0.4% (p < 0.001) for each 1 °C increase of PET and UTCI. Ozone and nitrogen oxides act as confounding factors. An effect of particulate matter (less than 10 μm in diameter) was observed when the analysis focused on April to August. Thresholds above which hospital admissions are likely to increase include daily mean Tair = 26.1 °C, PET = 29 °C, and UTCI = 26 °C. Studies on heat-related health effects are necessary to monitor health patterns, raise awareness, and design adaptation and mitigation measures.

Global Climate Resources for Camping and Nature-Based Tourism

Climate change is impacting the distribution of climate resources upon which nature-based tourism and recreation depends. Accordingly, we examine the global distribution of climate resources from 1948 to 2016 using the Camping Climate Index (CCI), a composite index previously validated for camping and national parks visitation for 80% of the world’s major climate types found in the United States. Calculating the CCI globally, spatial and temporal analysis indicates that climate suitability differs greatly for nature-based tourism and that changes have occurred over the last 50 years in many destinations. Locations with higher latitudes and altitudes have primarily experienced shifts towards more favorable climate conditions. Conditions have worsened in tropical and subtropical regions such as central Africa, central Australia, and Southern Asia. Results demonstrate that the redistribution of global climate resources for nature-based tourism and recreation is primarily driven by warming temperatures and the increased frequency of extreme weather events in some regions. Study findings are of particular interest to destination managers and planners of outdoor locations susceptible to weather and climate change.

Indikator zur Quantifizierung der Wirksamkeit von Anpassungsmaßnahmen an Hitze im Freiraum

&lt;p&gt;Der grunds&amp;#228;tzliche Zusammenhang zwischen dem mikroskaligen Klima einer Stadt, ihrer Struktur und Gr&amp;#252;nraumausstattung ist vielfach belegt. In Hinblick auf den Klimawandel stellt urbanes Gr&amp;#252;n eine wichtige Anpassungsma&amp;#223;nahme (AM) an Hitze dar, dessen Bewahrung und F&amp;#246;rderung bei gleichzeitiger baulicher Verdichtung eine stete Herausforderung ist. Vor dem Hintergrund der begrenzten personellen und finanziellen Ressourcen vieler St&amp;#228;dte ist es daher wichtig, die Wirksamkeit verschiedener AM zu quantifizieren und zu bewerten, um passgenaue AM in Stadtquartieren priorisieren zu k&amp;#246;nnen. Hierzu ist es notwendig, den verantwortlichen Akteuren angepasste Methoden, z.B. Indikatorensets, f&amp;#252;r die Entscheidungsfindung bereitzustellen. Diese Voraussetzung ist bisher unzureichend erf&amp;#252;llt (z.B. Barthesaghi Koc et al. 2018).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Im Verbundprojekt &amp;#8218;HeatResilientCity-II&amp;#8216; (HRC-II) wurde daher ein Indikatorset basierend auf Stadtklimasimulationen (ENVI-met, Bruse 1999) entwickelt, welches eine erste, vereinfachte Quantifizierung der Wirksamkeit von AM an Hitze erlaubt. Zur Beurteilung der Wirksamkeit der AM wird dabei ein bioklimatischer Index verwandt (UTCI; Universal Thermal Climate Index, Jendritzky et al. 2012), sodass direkt Aussagen zur &amp;#196;nderung der thermischen Belastung des Menschen erm&amp;#246;glicht werden. Hierbei werden sowohl Bedingungen am Tag als auch in der Nacht adressiert und so dem Umstand Rechnung getragen, dass nicht alle AM f&amp;#252;r alle Tageszeiten gleich wirksam sind. In einer ersten Version werden zwei verschiedene Kategorien umgesetzt, zum einen die Quantifizierung der Wirkung von AM f&amp;#252;r Einzelfl&amp;#228;chen begrenzter Ausdehnung und zum anderen f&amp;#252;r Stra&amp;#223;enbegleitgr&amp;#252;n.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Dem Nutzer wird eine Auswahl von Fl&amp;#228;chen bereitgestellt, welche unterschiedliche Anpassungsma&amp;#223;nahmen repr&amp;#228;sentieren und die jeweils mittels eines Steckbriefes kurz beschrieben werden. Derzeit stehen f&amp;#252;r die Kategorie Einzelma&amp;#223;nahmen begrenzter Ausdehnung 39 Fl&amp;#228;chen zur Verf&amp;#252;gung und f&amp;#252;r die Beurteilung von Stra&amp;#223;enbegleitgr&amp;#252;n 25 Fl&amp;#228;chen. Die zugeh&amp;#246;rigen UTCI-Werte sind entsprechend in einer Datenbank hinterlegt und erm&amp;#246;glichen somit einen Vergleich der thermischen Belastung verschiedener Beispielfl&amp;#228;chen.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Die Entwicklung des Indikatorsets erfolgt in Zusammenarbeit mit Praxispartnern aus zwei St&amp;#228;dten (Erfurt und Dresden) mit dem Ziel das Indikatorset nutzerfreundlich zu gestalten.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Literatur&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Bartesaghi Koc, C., Osmond, P., and Peters, A.: Evaluating the cooling effects of green infrastructure: A systematic review of methods, indicators and data sources, Solar Energy, 166, 486&amp;#8211;508, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.03.008, 2018.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Bruse, M.: Die Auswirkungen kleinskaliger Umweltgestaltung auf das Mikroklima. Entwicklung des prognostischen numerischen Models ENVI-Met zur Simulation der Wind-, Temperatur- und Feuchterverteilung in st&amp;#228;dtischen Strukturen, Universit&amp;#228;t Bochum, Bochum, 1999, https://doi.org/10.23689/fidgeo-440.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Jendritzky, G., Dear, R. de, and Havenith, G.: UTCI&amp;#8212;Why another thermal index?, Int J Biometeorol, 56, 421&amp;#8211;428, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0513-7, 2012.&lt;/p&gt;

Decadal Variations of Wood Decay Hazard and El Niño Southern Oscillation Phases in Iran

The intensive use of wood resources is a challenging subject around the world due to urbanization, population growth, and the biodegradability of wooden materials. The study of the climatic conditions and their effects on biotic wood degradation can provide a track of trends of wood decay and decomposition at regional and global scales to predict the upcoming responses. Thus, it yields an overview for decision-makers and managers to create a precise guideline for the protection of wooden structures and prolonged service life of wooden products. This study aimed at investigating the decay hazard in Iran, its decadal changes, and how it is affected by different phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Therefore, the risk for fungal decay of wood was estimated based on the Scheffer Climate Index (SCI) at 100 meteorological stations located in Iran, for the period 1987–2019 (separately for first, second, and third decade as decadal analysis). Subsequently, SCI value trends were analyzed using the Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope method. Finally, the relationship between SCI and climatic parameters (temperature and precipitation) was explored. Generally, the SCI fluctuated between 2 and 75 across the region. The decay risk was ranked as low in most parts, but moderate in the northern part of the country along the Caspian Sea coastlines. Decadal analysis demonstrated that the highest mean SCI values took more place in the third decade (58% of stations) and the lowest mean SCI values in the second decade (71% of stations). Furthermore, the highest and the lowest SCI values occurred at 70 and 66% of stations in El Niño and Neutral phase, respectively. Trend analysis of SCI values showed that large parts of several provinces (i.e., Markazi, Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, Zanjan, Ardebil, East Azarbayjan, West Azarbayjan, Kurdestan, Kermanshah, and Ilam) exhibited a significantly increasing decay hazard with a mean SCI of 2.9 during the period of 33 years. An analysis of causative factors (climatic parameters) for these changes revealed that all the meteorological stations experienced a significant increase in temperature while the number of days with more than 0.25 mm precipitation increased at some stations but decreased at others. However, in summary, the SCI increased over time. Hence, in this study, the effect of precipitation on SCI was confirmed to be greater than the temperature. Analysis of the results shows that the correlation between the SCI and ENSO was positive in most of the stations. Moreover, the results of spectral coherent analysis of SCI and ENSO in different climates of Iran showed that the maximum values of SCI do not correspond to the maximum values of ENSO and are associated with lag time. Therefore, the extreme values of the SCI values cannot be interpreted solely on the basis of the ENSO.

Investigating the Effective Climate on Transfer of Lessons Learned and Providing Solutions to Improve the Effectiveness of HSE Training Courses

Background: Today's businesses spend a lot of money on educating their personnel. What matters is that people use their knowledge to their jobs. The goal of this study was to look into the environment that affects learning transfer and come up with a solution to increase the effectiveness of health, safety and environment (HSE) courses. Methods: In 2020, a cross-sectional study was done at the Tehran Oil Refining Company. The number of samples was 200, according to Cochran's formula. The major data gathering technique was a 20-item questionnaire created by the researcher. The multivariate regression model was used to analyze the study data, which was done with IBM SPSS software. Results: The questionnaire's content validity and reliability were estimated to be 0.83 and 0.929, respectively. 3.68±0.22 was the atmospheric indicator that proved effective in transferring learning and providing a way to increase the effectiveness of HSE training. The climate index affecting the transfer of learning had a significant link with the parameters of work experience (p = 0.02), education.(p = 0.03), and kind of employment (P = 0.01), according to the results of linear multivariate regression analysis. Conclusion: The atmospheric index influencing learning transfer and proposing a solution to increase the efficacy of HSE courses in the Tehran Oil Refining Company was deemed favorable. The outcomes of this study revealed that supervisors on job units in this business provide a supportive environment that is perfectly aligned with encouraging learners to enroll in training courses.

Confort climático en la Argentina: un recurso intangible para el turismo

La relación entre clima y turismo tiene implicancias en todas las escalas territoriales. No obstante, la sensibilidad climática del turismo varía según la modalidad y el tipo de actividad. Por ello, desde la perspectiva del confort, las características climáticas del destino son un recurso importante para la planificación. El presente trabajo evalúa el confort climático de la Argentina como recurso intangible para el turismo. El análisis se funda en el modelado espacial del Tourism Climate Index (TCI), calculado para 69 estaciones meteorológicas distribuidas uniformemente en el país. El TCI medio anual en la Argentina es de 73 puntos, indicando condiciones de confort climático-turístico “muy buenas”. Sin embargo, el comportamiento espacial del índice permite diferenciar una banda diagonal de máxima y dos regiones espejo definidas por una disminución de los puntajes medios hacia el NE y el SO. Esto se atribuye a la distribución espacial de los subíndices que constituyen el TCI. El confort térmico diario y la velocidad del viento influyen negativamente en Patagonia, mientras que en Litoral contrapesan los altos montos de precipitación. Estos hallazgos evidencian la importancia e interés de considerar al clima como un recurso estratégico en la planificación turística nacional.