Social Sensing of Heatwaves
Heatwaves cause thousands of deaths every year, yet the social impacts of heat are poorly measured. Temperature alone is not sufficient to measure impacts and “heatwaves” are defined differently in different cities/countries. This study used data from the microblogging platform Twitter to detect dif...
| Hlavní autoři: | , , , |
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| Médium: | Článek |
| Jazyk: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Edice: | Sensors |
| Témata: | |
| On-line přístup: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/11/3717 |
| _version_ | 1827691448936431616 |
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| author | James C. Young Rudy Arthur Michelle Spruce Hywel T. P. Williams |
| author_facet | James C. Young Rudy Arthur Michelle Spruce Hywel T. P. Williams |
| author_sort | James C. Young |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Heatwaves cause thousands of deaths every year, yet the social impacts of heat are poorly measured. Temperature alone is not sufficient to measure impacts and “heatwaves” are defined differently in different cities/countries. This study used data from the microblogging platform Twitter to detect different scales of response and varying attitudes to heatwaves within the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (US) and Australia. At the country scale, the volume of heat-related Twitter activity increased exponentially as temperature increased. The initial social reaction differed between countries, with a larger response to heatwaves elicited from the UK than from Australia, despite the comparatively milder conditions in the UK. Language analysis reveals that the UK user population typically responds with concern for individual wellbeing and discomfort, whereas Australian and US users typically focus on the environmental consequences. At the city scale, differing responses are seen in London, Sydney and New York on governmentally defined heatwave days; sentiment changes predictably in London and New York over a 24-h period, while sentiment is more constant in Sydney. This study shows that social media data can provide robust observations of public response to heat, suggesting that social sensing of heatwaves might be useful for preparedness and mitigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:00:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ccd5a901b3344c788c8f6ca319392ca0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:00:53Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-ccd5a901b3344c788c8f6ca319392ca02023-11-21T21:32:00ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202021-05-012111371710.3390/s21113717Social Sensing of HeatwavesJames C. Young0Rudy Arthur1Michelle Spruce2Hywel T. P. Williams3Computer Science, Innovation Centre, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4RN, UKComputer Science, Innovation Centre, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4RN, UKComputer Science, Innovation Centre, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4RN, UKComputer Science, Innovation Centre, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4RN, UKHeatwaves cause thousands of deaths every year, yet the social impacts of heat are poorly measured. Temperature alone is not sufficient to measure impacts and “heatwaves” are defined differently in different cities/countries. This study used data from the microblogging platform Twitter to detect different scales of response and varying attitudes to heatwaves within the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (US) and Australia. At the country scale, the volume of heat-related Twitter activity increased exponentially as temperature increased. The initial social reaction differed between countries, with a larger response to heatwaves elicited from the UK than from Australia, despite the comparatively milder conditions in the UK. Language analysis reveals that the UK user population typically responds with concern for individual wellbeing and discomfort, whereas Australian and US users typically focus on the environmental consequences. At the city scale, differing responses are seen in London, Sydney and New York on governmentally defined heatwave days; sentiment changes predictably in London and New York over a 24-h period, while sentiment is more constant in Sydney. This study shows that social media data can provide robust observations of public response to heat, suggesting that social sensing of heatwaves might be useful for preparedness and mitigation.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/11/3717heatwaveheatextreme weathernatural hazardssocial sensingsocial media |
| spellingShingle | James C. Young Rudy Arthur Michelle Spruce Hywel T. P. Williams Social Sensing of Heatwaves Sensors heatwave heat extreme weather natural hazards social sensing social media |
| title | Social Sensing of Heatwaves |
| title_full | Social Sensing of Heatwaves |
| title_fullStr | Social Sensing of Heatwaves |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social Sensing of Heatwaves |
| title_short | Social Sensing of Heatwaves |
| title_sort | social sensing of heatwaves |
| topic | heatwave heat extreme weather natural hazards social sensing social media |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/11/3717 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jamescyoung socialsensingofheatwaves AT rudyarthur socialsensingofheatwaves AT michellespruce socialsensingofheatwaves AT hyweltpwilliams socialsensingofheatwaves |