Heat Waves and Human Well-Being in Madrid (Spain)

Rasilla, Domingo; Álvarez, Fernando Allende; Martilli, Alberto; Fernández, Francisco Santolaria

doi:10.3390/atmos10050288

Cited by 38 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…These findings for Athens are similar with the results reported in other Mediterranean or eastern Europe cities. For instance, a significant increase in both the number of HW days and the number of long HWs have been recently reported in Madrid, Palma, Nicosia, Rome, Sofia, Zagreb and Ljubljana [19,61,62].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Despite the fact that HWs are meteorological events associated with large scale atmospheric anomalies and persistent anticyclonic conditions, they should also be assessed in terms of human impacts [16]. When the analysis of HWs is focused on human well-being, the approaches are based on bioclimatic indices (e.g., [17][18][19]). To date, a plethora of bioclimatic indices have been developed worldwide aiming to assess the human thermal environment [20][21][22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Response of Urban Heat Stress to Heat Waves in Athens (1960–2017)

Katavoutas

Founda

2019

Atmosphere

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The increasing frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves seem to follow the observed global warming in recent decades. Vulnerability to heat waves is expected to increase in urban environments mainly due to population density and the effect of the urban heat island that make cities hotter than surrounding non-urban areas. The present study focuses on a vulnerable area of the eastern Mediterranean, already characterized as a ‘hot spot’ with respect to heat-related risk and investigates the change in heat stress levels during heat wave compared to non-heat wave conditions as well as the way that heat stress levels respond to heat waves in urban, compared to non-urban, environments. The adoption of a metric accounting for both the intensity and duration of the hot event yielded a total of 46 heat wave episodes over a nearly 60-year period, but with very rare occurrence until the late 1990s and a profound increased frequency thereafter. The results reveal a difference of at least one thermal stress category between heat wave and non-heat wave periods, which is apparent across the entire range of the thermal stress distribution. The analysis demonstrates a robust intensification of nighttime heat stress conditions in urban, compared to non-urban, sites during severe heat waves. Nevertheless, severe heat waves almost equalize heat stress conditions between urban and non-urban sites during midday.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of Urban Heat Stress to Heat Waves in Athens (1960–2017)

Katavoutas

Founda

2019

Atmosphere

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“…[114] Rasilla, D. 2019 Due to the excess heat generated by UHI as well as poorer air quality, heatwaves pose additional threats to urban spaces. The lack of wind-driven cooling causes severe thermal stress in the city during the day.…”

Section: Referencementioning

confidence: 99%

A Literature Review of the Impacts of Heat Stress on Human Health across Africa

et al. 2021

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Heat stress-related illness attributed to the changing climate, particularly the more frequent extreme high temperatures, is becoming a theme of public concern, especially in the most vulnerable regions, such as the African continent. Knowledge of the existing research directions and gaps on heat stress and human health is vital for informing future strategic research foci capable of influencing policy development, planning, adaptation, and mitigation efforts. In this regard, a bibliometric analysis was conducted, with an emphasis on Africa, to assess regional research contributions to heat stress impacts on human health. The goals of the study were to review publication growth and patterns of the scientific publications and to identify key players (especially collaborating institutions and countries) and the evolution of research themes on the African continent, while paying attention to global trends and emergent hot topics and methodology of heat stress research. Using the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus core collection databases, a structured keyword search was undertaken, which yielded 463 and 58 research publications from around the world and Africa, respectively. The retrieved scientific documents, published between 1968 and 2020, were analyzed and visualized using a bibliometric analysis technique and the VOSviewer software tool. The results indicate low statistics and slow scientific growth in publication output, with the highest peak having been reached in 2018, resulting in 13 scientific publications. While global research collaborations are successfully reflected in the literature, there is a considerable gap in understanding heat stress and related collaborations between African countries and international institutions. The review study has identified key opportunities that can benefit Africa through the expansion of the scope of heat stress and human health research on the continent. These opportunities can be achieved by closing the following research gaps: (1) vulnerability assessments within demographic classes, such as the elderly, (2) personal exposure and associated risks, (3) Urban Heat Island (UHI) evaluation for urban environments, and (4) heat adaptation research, which will enable informed and targeted preventive actions that will limit future heat health impacts. The authors opine that the pursuit of such studies will be most impactful if the current knowledge gaps are bridged through transdisciplinary research supported by local, regional, and international collaborators.

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“…Rasilla et al [3] analysed a centennial record of air temperature in Madrid and found a shift by +1.5 • C in the mean air temperature during the recent period 1980-2017 compared to the previous period 1948-1979, accompanied by a significant increase in the frequency and duration of HWs after the 1980s. The authors also studied UHI intensity using air temperature records at different urban and non-urban stations and land surface temperature (LST) images from MODIS products to assess the surface UHI (SUHI), and investigate the possible synergistic interactions between UHIs and HWs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The papers by Katavoutas and Founda [2] and Rasilla et al [3] focus on Mediterranean cities and study the characteristics and trends of HWs metrics over long periods, as well as the synergies between HWs and UHIs. The Mediterranean has been assigned as one of the most responsive to climate change areas in the world, with respect to the observed and projected thermal risk.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%