Abstract. Air temperature controls a large variety of environmental processes, and is an essential input parameter for land surface models, for example in hydrology, ecology and climatology. However, meteorological networks, which can provide the necessary information, are commonly sparse in complex terrains, especially in high mountainous regions. In order to provide temperature data in an adequate temporal and spatial resolution for local scale applications a new elevation correction method has been developed that is able to downscale 3-hourly ERA-Interim temperature data. The scheme is based on model internal vertical lapse rates derived from different ERA-Interim pressure levels and has been validated for twelve meteorological stations in the German and Swiss Alps. The method was also compared with two other statistical, lapse rate based correction approaches. The results indicate that the use of model internal ERA-Interim lapse rates can significantly improve the downscaling performance when compared to the standard procedure of using fixed lapse rates.

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Abstract. This study aimed to investigate the association between meteorological-related risk factors and bacillary dysentery in a subtropical inland Chinese area: Changsha City. The cross-correlation analysis and the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average with Exogenous Variables (ARIMAX) model were used to quantify the relationship between meteorological factors and the incidence of bacillary dysentery. Monthly mean temperature, mean relative humidity, mean air pressure, mean maximum temperature, and mean minimum temperature were significantly correlated with the number of bacillary dysentery cases with a 1-month lagged effect. The ARIMAX models suggested that a 1 C rise in mean temperature, mean maximum temperature, and mean minimum temperature might lead to 14.8%, 12.9%, and 15.5% increases in the incidence of bacillary dysentery disease, respectively. Temperature could be used as a forecast factor for the increase of bacillary dysentery in Changsha. More public health actions should be taken to prevent the increase of bacillary dysentery disease with consideration of local climate conditions, especially temperature.