This paper presents part of the research in the field of human bioclimatology and refers to biothermal conditions in different geographical environments in Serbia: an urban area and a mountain of medium height. The goal of the paper was to show bioclimatic differences during the summer between the city of Belgrade (116 m a.s.l.) and the mountain resort of Zlatibor (1498 m a.s.l.). The basic principle of bioclimatic analysis is the human heat balance between man and environment. This methodological approach is a combination of physiological and meteorological parameters that result in thermophysiological bioclimatic indices: heat load (HL) in man and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). For this analysis, weather data for July, as the warmest month, was obtained, using daily meteorological data for the decade from 2000 to 2010. Results for July indicate a considerable difference between the two abovementioned environments. HL in Belgrade was dominated by degrees of comfort "hot" and "extremely hot, with the highest value of 4.540, while for Zlatibor the dominant degree of comfort was "warm". The UTCI in Belgrade has dominated by strong heat stress and moderate heat stress, compared to Zlatibor where the UTCI is dominated by moderate heat stress. In addition, a significant part of the monitored decade on Mt. Zlatibor was without heat stress, with the exception of 2006 and 2007, indicating favorable biothermal characteristics. Therefore, compared to Belgrade, with its considerably lower overall heat stress Zlatibor has the characteristics of a site with favorable bioclimatic qualities.
Abstract. The objective of this paper is to assess the bioclimatic conditions in Serbia during summer in order to identify biothermal heat hazard. Special emphasis is placed on the bioclimatic index UTCI (Universal Thermal Climate Index), whose purpose is to evaluate the degree of thermal stress that the human body is exposed to. For this research, mean daily and hourly (07:00 and 14:00 CET) meteorological data from three weather stations (Zlatibor, Novi Sad and Niš) have been collected for the period from 1998 to 2017. In order to identify patterns of biothermal heat stress conditions, the thresholds of the daily UTCI (UTCI ≥38 ∘C, referred to as very strong heat stress, VSHS) at 14:00 CET are compared with the thresholds of daily maximum air temperature (tmax≥35 ∘C, referred to as hot days, HDs), which are further termed as heat wave events (HWEs). The findings show that the UTCI heat stress category “very strong heat stress“ at 14:00 CET indicates heat waves. The most extreme heat wave events occurred in 2007, 2012, 2015 and 2017. Moreover, three HWEs at Niš that occurred in July 2007 lasted 3, 10 and 4 d. HWEs and very strong heat stress events (VSHSEs) recorded in July 2007 (lasted 10 d each), 2012 (lasted 9 and 12 d) and 2015 (lasted 7 and 10 d) were of the longest duration and are considered to be the indicators of biothermal heat hazard. The daily UTCI14 h heat stress becomes more extreme in terms of severity and heat wave duration up to very strong heat stress.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.