Evaluation of Bioclimatic Discomfort Trend in a Central Area of the Mediterranean Sea
Effects of climate change are perceived in ever larger areas of the planet. Heat waves occur with increasing frequency, constituting a risk to the population, especially for the most sensitive subjects. Preventive information to the population on the characteristics of the phenomenon and on the beha...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Climate |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/10/10/146 |
| _version_ | 1797474142812897280 |
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| author | Pietro Monforte Maria Alessandra Ragusa |
| author_facet | Pietro Monforte Maria Alessandra Ragusa |
| author_sort | Pietro Monforte |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Effects of climate change are perceived in ever larger areas of the planet. Heat waves occur with increasing frequency, constituting a risk to the population, especially for the most sensitive subjects. Preventive information to the population on the characteristics of the phenomenon and on the behavior to be supported is the means to reduce the health risks. To monitor the intensity of heat and the physiological discomfort perceived by humans, there are indices based on the perception of meteorological parameters such as temperature and relative humidity. In this work, by applying the Thom Discomfort Index (TDI), the first bioclimatic characterization of the provinces that make up Sicily, a Mediterranean region defined as a hotspot for climate change, was performed by the authors. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall test was applied to the daily values of the TDI in all provinces in order to verify the presence of significant trends. The test results highlighted the existence of increasing trends, especially in the months of August and September, when the TDI value undergoes a significant increase due not only to high temperatures, as one might expect, but above all to a high humidity rate. When these two meteorological parameters reach certain values, the physiological discomfort from humid heat represents a risk to the population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:25:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b8d3c2c54de4f879705012b3b203a06 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2225-1154 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:25:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Climate |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b8d3c2c54de4f879705012b3b203a062023-11-23T23:34:37ZengMDPI AGClimate2225-11542022-10-01101014610.3390/cli10100146Evaluation of Bioclimatic Discomfort Trend in a Central Area of the Mediterranean SeaPietro Monforte0Maria Alessandra Ragusa1Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Catania University, 95124 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, Catania University, 95124 Catania, ItalyEffects of climate change are perceived in ever larger areas of the planet. Heat waves occur with increasing frequency, constituting a risk to the population, especially for the most sensitive subjects. Preventive information to the population on the characteristics of the phenomenon and on the behavior to be supported is the means to reduce the health risks. To monitor the intensity of heat and the physiological discomfort perceived by humans, there are indices based on the perception of meteorological parameters such as temperature and relative humidity. In this work, by applying the Thom Discomfort Index (TDI), the first bioclimatic characterization of the provinces that make up Sicily, a Mediterranean region defined as a hotspot for climate change, was performed by the authors. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall test was applied to the daily values of the TDI in all provinces in order to verify the presence of significant trends. The test results highlighted the existence of increasing trends, especially in the months of August and September, when the TDI value undergoes a significant increase due not only to high temperatures, as one might expect, but above all to a high humidity rate. When these two meteorological parameters reach certain values, the physiological discomfort from humid heat represents a risk to the population.https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/10/10/146climate changeheat wavepublic healthbioclimatic discomforttrend analysisMann–Kendall test |
| spellingShingle | Pietro Monforte Maria Alessandra Ragusa Evaluation of Bioclimatic Discomfort Trend in a Central Area of the Mediterranean Sea Climate climate change heat wave public health bioclimatic discomfort trend analysis Mann–Kendall test |
| title | Evaluation of Bioclimatic Discomfort Trend in a Central Area of the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full | Evaluation of Bioclimatic Discomfort Trend in a Central Area of the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Bioclimatic Discomfort Trend in a Central Area of the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Bioclimatic Discomfort Trend in a Central Area of the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_short | Evaluation of Bioclimatic Discomfort Trend in a Central Area of the Mediterranean Sea |
| title_sort | evaluation of bioclimatic discomfort trend in a central area of the mediterranean sea |
| topic | climate change heat wave public health bioclimatic discomfort trend analysis Mann–Kendall test |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/10/10/146 |
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