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Contrasting effects have been identified in association of weather (temperature and humidity) and pollutant gases with COVID‐19 infection, which could be derived from the influence of lockdowns and season change. The influence of pollutant gases and climate during the initial phases of the pandemic, before the closures and the change of season in the northern hemisphere, is unknown. Here, we used a spatial‐temporal Bayesian zero‐inflated‐Poisson model to test for short‐term associations of weather and pollutant gases with the relative risk of COVID‐19 disease in China (first outbreak) and the countries with more cases during the initial pandemic (the United States, Spain and Italy), considering also the effects of season and lockdown. We found contrasting association between pollutant gases and COVID‐19 risk in the United States, Italy, and Spain, while in China it was negatively associated (except for SO2). COVID‐19 risk was positively associated with specific humidity in all countries, while temperature presented a negative effect. Our findings showed that short‐term associations of air pollutants with COVID‐19 infection vary strongly between countries, while generalized effects of temperature (negative) and humidity (positive) with COVID‐19 was found. Our results show novel information about the influence of pollution and weather on the initial outbreaks, which contribute to unravel the mechanisms during the beginning of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the meteorological variables determining Cupressaceae pollen grain disruption in the environment. A parallel sampling of pollen grains and disrupted Cupressaceae pollen grains was performed in six cities using two Spanish aerobiological networks. The pollen concentrations, disrupted pollen concentrations, percentage of disrupted pollen and number of days when the percentage of disrupted pollen was above or equal to 50 % were quantified during two pollen seasons. The concentrations were determined following the standardised method EN 16868. Results show that the concentrations of pollen grains and disrupted pollen grains were not determined by geographical features and rarely by bioclimatic variables or indexes but by the ornamental use of the specimens in the vicinity of the pollen sampler, highlighting the possibility of using management practices to reduce exposure to allergens in the cities. African dust outbreaks coincided with higher concentrations of pollen grains and disrupted pollen grains, but the reduced percentage of disrupted pollen grains pointed to a non-causal relationship with long-distance transport. The effect of wind and maximum gusts remained negligible. The triggering factor for pollen disruption was the amount of water in the atmosphere, mainly reported as relative humidity. Rainfall increased the effect of disruption due to pollen grain swelling caused by its wash-out effect. The higher the relative humidity, the higher the disrupted pollen concentrations. This aligns with the mechanism of Cupressaceae reproduction since the family needs a water medium in the form of pollination droplets for the pollination tube to develop and the pollen grain to perform its biological function. Therefore, people that develop allergic symptoms to Cupresaceae pollen should avoid exposure during days with high relative humidity in the main pollen season., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A comparative analysis between the rules and regulations on Thermal Comfort applied in Argentina and Spain is presented. The most important documents on the subject are analyzed in both regulations. This analysis shows that there are regulations related to constructive requirements that are based on optimizing the thermal resistance of walls, floors and ceilings. But there is a regulatory and calculation vacancy, in relation to thermal comfort in industrial buildings. Not only must the design parameters be taken into account, but also the type of activity, time range, time of year, and geographical region. In Argentina, two case studies were carried out obtaining recommended values for dry bulb temperature and relative humidity, based on the variables mentioned. When corroborating the benefits of using these values for each zone and activity, the possibility of obtaining an algorithm that satisfies this need is analyzed. The importance of having these parameters is to optimize the climate of the work environment that leads to a decrease in occupational risks. This optimization brings with it other benefits no less important: the saving of energy, the increase of the performances and procures a better quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the impact of relative humidity (RH) and climate variables of the place of residence on symptoms of dry eye disease (DED) in primary eye care practice. A cross-sectional analysis of the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) dry eye classification of 1.033 patients [classified as non-DED (OSDI ≤22) and DED (OSDI >22)] was conducted in a multicentre study in Spain. Participants were classified according to the 5-year RH value (data from the Spanish Climate Agency - www.aemet.es) into two groups: those who lived in low RH (<70%) places and those who lived in high RH (≥70%) places. Additionally, differences in daily climate records (EU Copernicus Climate Change Service) were assessed. The prevalence of DED symptoms was 15.5% (95% CI 13.2%–17.6%). Participants who lived in places with <70% RH showed a higher prevalence of DED (17.7%; 95% CI 14.5%–21.1%; P < 0.01 adjusted for age and sex) than those who lived in places with ≥70% RH (13.6%; 95% CI 11.1%–16.7%) and a closer, but not statistically significant, risk for DED (OR = 1.34, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.89; P = 0.09) than previously described DED risk factors [age older than 50 years (OR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.16; P = 0.02) and female sex (OR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.36 to 2.90; P < 0.01)]. Some climate data showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) between participants with DED and non-DED (mean wind gusts; atmospheric pressure; mean and minimum relative humidity); these variables did not significantly increase DED risk (OR close to 1.0 and P > 0.05). This study is the first to describe the impact of climate data on dryness symptomatology in Spain, confirming that participants who live in locations with RH <70% have a higher prevalence (corrected for age and sex) of DED. These findings support the use of climate databases in DED research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) is one of the most relevant surface meteorological variables; with important implications in ecology, hydrology, and atmosphere. By understanding the processes involved in the variability and trend of the VPD, it is possible to assess the possible impacts and implications related to both physical and human environments, like plant function, water use efficiency, net ecosystem production, atmospheric CO 2 growth rate, etc. This study analysed recent temporal variability and trends in VPD in Spain between 1980 and 2020 using a recently developed high-quality dataset. Also, the connection between VPD and soil moisture and other key climate variables (e.g. air temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity) was assessed on different time scales varying from weekly to annual. The objective was to determine if changes in land-atmosphere feedbacks connected with soil moisture and evapotranspiration anomalies have been relevant to assess the interannual variability and trends in VPD. Results demonstrate that VPD exhibited a clear seasonality and dominant positive trends on both the seasonal (mainly spring and summer) and annual scales. Rather, trends were statistically non-significant (p > 0.05) during winter and autumn. Spatially, VPD positive trends were more pronounced in southern and eastern of Spain. Also, results suggest that recent trends of VPD shows low contribution of variables that drive land-atmosphere feedbacks (e.g. evapotranspiration, and soil moisture) in comparison to the role of global warming processes. Notably, the variability of VPD seems to be less coupled with soil moisture variability during summertime, while it is better interrelated during winter, indicating that VPD variability would be mostly related to climate variability mechanisms that control temperature and relative humidity than to land-atmosohere feedbacks. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of assessing driving forces and physical mechanisms that control VPD variability using high-quality climate datasets, especially, in semiarid and sub-humid regions of the world. • Increase of Vapor Pressure Deficit in Spain in the last decades, particularly in summer season. • The increase of Vapor Pressure Deficit is principally related to warming processes. • There is not connection between Vapor Pressure Deficit and soil moisture variability an important role of land atmosphere feedbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrasting effects have been identified in association of weather (temperature and humidity) and pollutant gases with COVID-19 infection, which could be derived from the influence of lockdowns and season change. The influence of pollutant gases and climate during the initial phases of the pandemic, before the closures and the change of season in the northern hemisphere, is unknown. Here, we used a spatial-temporal Bayesian zero-inflated-Poisson model to test for short-term associations of weather and pollutant gases with the relative risk of COVID-19 disease in China (first outbreak) and the countries with more cases during the initial pandemic (the United States, Spain and Italy), considering also the effects of season and lockdown. We found contrasting association between pollutant gases and COVID-19 risk in the United States, Italy, and Spain, while in China it was negatively associated (except for SO 2 ). COVID-19 risk was positively associated with specific humidity in all countries, while temperature presented a negative effect. Our findings showed that short-term associations of air pollutants with COVID-19 infection vary strongly between countries, while generalized effects of temperature (negative) and humidity (positive) with COVID-19 was found. Our results show novel information about the influence of pollution and weather on the initial outbreaks, which contribute to unravel the mechanisms during the beginning of the pandemic., (© 2022 Society for Risk Analysis.)

We analyzed the evolution of surface relative humidity (RH) and specific humidity (q) in Spain, based on complete records available from the State Meteorological Agency of Spain. The surface RH records used span the period 1920-2011, but because of spatial and temporal constraints in the dataset we used a subset of the data, covering the period 1961-2011. The subset contained 50 monthly series of RH, which were created through a process of quality control, reconstruction and homogenization. The data shows that there was a large decrease in RH over mainland Spain from 1961 to 2011, which was greatest in spring and summer. In contrast, there was no overall change in the specific humidity in this period, except in spring, when an increase was observed. The decrease in RH affected the entire country, but the changes in specific humidity were less homogeneous. For specific humidity there was a general increase in the northern and eastern parts of Spain, whereas negative trends dominated in the central and southern areas, mainly during the summer months. The results suggest that an increase in the water holding capacity of the atmosphere as a consequence of warming during recent decades has not been accompanied by an increase in the surface water vapor content, probably because the supply of water vapor from the main terrestrial and oceanic areas has been constrained. We discuss the implications of these findings for evapotranspiration processes, precipitation and water management in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whitewash is a sustainable technique in Mediterranean greenhouses. where high radiation during spring and summer generates microclimate of high temperature and low Vapour Pressure Deficit (VPD). The aim ofthe present research was to study the effect of polyethylene film covering whitewashed and control on global radiation, VPD and air temperature. This study was conducted in a polyethylene multitunnel greenhouse without crop in the University of Almeria (Spain). The covering transmission coefficient in the greenhouse is not constant along the spectrum. Under whitewashed condition, greenhouse presented a reduction of the air temperature and global radiation of 32 and 41 per cent and an increase of 46 per cent in the VPD. Comparing with the external condition, the average reduction of radiation was 54.7 per cent and 29.6 per cent, the average increment ofVPD was -2.63 kPa and -1.42 kPa and the average diminution of temperature was 10.8 °C and 7.4 °C in the control greenhouse and with whitewash, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the influence of weather factors, including temperature, humidity and sunlight, on the diurnal flight activity of Ichneumonidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) in an oak wood in Cabaneros National Park (Spain) in June, when the annual flight activity reaches its maximum. Ichneumonidae flight activity peaked at temperatures of around 25.6-27°C, which is reached in late morning to midday and in the evening (20.00-21.00 h). The evening peak in activity was greater. Males were more active in the morning, whereas females were more active in the afternoon. Relative humidity is closely related to air temperature but showed little correspondence with flight activity. Illuminance did not explain diurnal flight activity, other than dictating diurnal or nocturnal habits of Ichneumonidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canary Islands, an archipelago east of Morocco's Atlantic coast, present steep altitudinal gradients covering various climatic zones from hot deserts to subalpine Mediterranean, passing through fog-influenced cloud forests. Unlike the majority of the Canarian flora, Pinus canariensis C. Sm. ex DC. in Buch grow along most of these gradients, allowing the study of plant functioning in contrasting ecosystems. Here we assess the water sources (precipitation, fog) of P. canariensis and its physiological behavior in its different natural environments. We analyzed carbon and oxygen isotope ratios of water and organics from atmosphere, soil and different plant organs and tissues (including 10-year annual time series of tree-ring cellulose) of six sites from 480 to 1990 m above sea level on the Canary Island La Palma. We found a decreasing δ18O trend in source water that was overridden by an increasing δ18O trend in needle water, leaf assimilates and tree-ring cellulose with increasing altitude, suggesting site-specific tree physiological responses to relative humidity. Fog-influenced and fog-free sites showed similar δ13C values, suggesting photosynthetic activity to be limited by stomatal closure and irradiance at certain periods. In addition, we observed an 18O-depletion (fog-free and timberline sites) and 13C-depletion (fog-influenced and fog-free sites) in latewood compared with earlywood caused by seasonal differences in: (i) water uptake (i.e., deeper ground water during summer drought, fog water frequency and interception) and (ii) meteorological conditions (stem radial growth and latewood δ18O correlated with winter precipitation). In addition, we found evidence for foliar water uptake and strong isotopic gradients along the pine needle axis in water and assimilates. These gradients are likely the reason for an unexpected underestimation of pine needle water δ18O when applying standard leaf water δ18O models. Our results indicate that soil water availability and air humidity conditions are the main drivers of the physiological behavior of pine along the Canary Island's altitudinal gradients., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Postweaning is one of the most sensitive and energy-demanding phases of swine production. The objective of this research was to assess the energy, production and environmental characteristics of a conventional farm with temperature-based environmental control. The selected energy, environmental and production variables were measured on farm, in a high livestock density area of NW Spain, for seven production cycles. The quantification of variables was aimed at obtaining the maximum performance with the lowest possible use of resources, focusing on animal welfare and production efficiency. The Brown–Forsythe, Welch and Games-Howell tests revealed significant differences in terms of temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentrations among production cycles, and among the critical, postcritical and final periods. Improved humidity management resulted in a 17% reduction of climate control energy, which involved energy savings in the range of 33% to 47% per kg produced at the end of the postweaning cycle. Accordingly, adding humidity as a control variable could result in higher ventilation rates, thereby improving animal welfare, reducing heating energy use and increasing weight gain per unit climate control energy. In addition, the strong correlations found between heating energy and relative humidity (R2 = 0.73) and ventilation energy and CO2 (R2 = 0.99) suggest that these variables could be readily estimated without additional sensor costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The study climatic variables have multifractal nature. • Multifractal analysis is able to study three climatic variables acting in concert. • The most frequents cases have regular singularities. Previous works have analysed the relationship existing between reference evapotranspiration (ET 0) and other climatic variables under a one-at-a-time perturbation condition. However, due to the physical relationships between these climatic variables is advisable to study their joint influence on ET 0. The box-counting joint multifractal algorithm describes the relations between variables using relevant information extracted from the data singularities. This work investigated the use of this algorithm to describe the simultaneous behaviour of ET 0 , calculated by means of Penman–Monteith (PM) equation, and the two main climatic variables, relative humidity (RH) and air temperature (T), influencing on it in the middle zone of the Guadalquivir river valley, Andalusia, southern Spain. The studied cases were grouped according to the fractal dimension values, obtained from the global multifractal analysis, which were related to their probability of occurrence. The most likely cases were linked to smooth behaviour and weak dependence between variables, both circumstances were detected in the local multifractal analysis. For these cases, the rest of Penman Monteith (PM) equation variables, neither the T nor the RH , seemed to influence on ET 0 determination, especially when low T values were involved. By contrast, the least frequent cases were those with variables showing high fluctuations and strong relationship between them. In these situations, when T is low, the ET 0 is affected by the rest of PM equation variables. This fact confirmed T as main driver of ET 0 because the higher T values the lesser influence of other climate variables on ET 0. This condition could not be extended to RH because the variability in ET 0 singularities was not significantly influenced by low or high values of this variable. These results show that the joint multifractal analysis can be regarded as a suitable tool for describing the complex relationship between ET 0 , T and RH , providing additional information to that derived from descriptive statistics. Although, joint multifractal analysis shows some limitations when it is applied to large number of variables, the results reported are promising and suggest the convenience of exploring the relationships between ET 0 and other climatic variables not considered here with this framework such as wind speed and net radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potato early blight caused by Alternaria solani generates significant economic losses in crops worldwide. Forecasting the risk of infection on crops is indispensable for the management of the fungal disease, ensuring maximum economic benefit but with minimal environmental impact. This work aimed to calculate the interrupted wet periods (IWP) according to the climate conditions of A Limia (Northwest of Spain) to optimize the prediction against early blight in potatoes. The study was performed during nine crop cycles. The relative hourly humidity and Alternaria concentration in the crop environment were taken into account. Alternaria levels were monitored by aerobiological techniques using a LANZONI VPPS-2000 volumetric trap. The relationships between weather conditions and airborne Alternaria concentration were statistically analyzed using Spearman correlations. To establish the effectiveness of wetness periods, the first important Alternaria peak was taken into account in each crop cycle (with a concentration greater than 70 spores/m3). Considering the six interrupted wet periods of the system, it was possible to predict the first peak of Alternaria several days in advance (between 6 and 38 days), except in 2007 and 2018. Automated systems to predict the initiation of early blight in potato crop, such as interrupted wet periods, could be an effective basis for developing decision support systems. The incorporation of aerobiological data for the calculation of interrupted wet periods improved the results of this system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]