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The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between air temperature data against hospital admissions due to respiratory diseases of children (under five years of age) and the elderly (over 65) in subtropical Porto Alegre, Brazil, comparing outcomes for 3 sequential years, 2018–2020, pre- and post-COVID 19 pandemic. Meteorological and hospital admission (HA) data for Porto Alegre, marked by a Koeppen-Geiger's Cfa climate type with well-defined seasons, were used in the analyses. HA was obtained for respiratory diseases (J00–99, according to the International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10) from the Brazilian DATASUS (Unified Health System database). We performed correlation analysis between variables (HA versus air temperature and heat stress) in order to identify existing relationships and lag effects (between meteorological condition and morbidity). Relative risk (RR) was also obtained for the two age groups during the three years. Results showed that the pandemic year disrupted observed patterns of association between analyzed variables, with either very low or non-existent correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief background highlights Brazil as a 'climate-health hotspot', i.e. a country where climate affects local populations negatively through multiple pathways (Di Napoli et al. BMC Public Health 22(1):1-8, 2022). Knowledge gaps still need to be filled concerning the various climaterelated dimensions of tourism, vector-borne diseases, mortality and morbidity in urban centers in the country (Krüger et al. Int J Biometeorol 66(7):1297-1315, 2022). Motivated by this, the first Brazilian Symposium on Human Biometeorology (Simpósio Brasileiro de Biometeorologia Humana 2022) was organized and held at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) in Natal, northeastern Brazil, between July 4 and 8, 2022. The symposium was organized as a hybrid event by a committee composed of researchers acting in different regions of the country, and who had an ongoing research collaboration on matters related to human biometeorology. The event was partly sponsored by the ISB and partly self-supported by the organizers and institutions involved. The symposium aimed to promote the development of the research area on human biometeorology in Brazil in facing challenges imposed by a globally and locally changing climate. To achieve this, the symposium focused on five main topics of discussion: a) climate-driven diseases; b) thermal comfort, urban and architectural biometeorology; c) atmospheric pollution and health; d) climate change; e) climate, health and climate change. This summary highlights the main findings, future research directions, and policy implications in each topic from the presentations and panel discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) surveys require synchronous monitoring of meteorological variables for direct comparisons against subjective thermal perception. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) is a feasible index as it integrates meteorological conditions as a single value irrespective of urban morphological attributes or biological sex, age and body mass. ERA5-HEAT (Human thErmAl comforT) is a downloadable reanalysis dataset providing hourly grids of UTCI climate records at 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution from 1979 to present. We here evaluate for the first time whether it is possible to use ERA5-HEAT data as a proxy for the UTCI measured onsite during OTC surveys. A dataset comprising 1640 survey responses gathered over 14 OTC campaigns in Curitiba, Brazil (25°26′S, 49°16′W) was analysed. We assessed the bias obtained between the Dynamic Thermal Sensation, an index derived from the UTCI, and the thermal sensation reported by survey participants by considering locally measured meteorological variables and ERA5-HEAT reanalysis data. As ERA5-HEAT data are given on an hourly basis, prediction bias can be greatly reduced when accounting for survey responses close to the hour. In terms of seasons, the fall and winter seasons have diminished mean bias, though with larger spread than in summer. In terms of UTCI stress categories, prediction bias is lower for the thermal comfort range. When comparing reanalysis data against WMO station data as proxy candidates for survey field data, the former presented lower bias, less spread in terms of standard deviation and higher correlation to in situ data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review aims to give an overview of the diversity of research areas related to human biometeorology in Brazil. The main focus of this paper addresses research trends, represented by published papers with national and international authorship, main contributions and shortcomings, as well as challenges and prospects of research in this area of study. An extensive literature search was conducted in the Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct databases so as to identify relevant publication output up to July 2021 related to the research area. The screening resulted in 96 studies chosen for full-text reading. Overall, results indicated a reduced amount of articles on the subject matter published internationally, with noticeable gaps in research in some regions of the country, such as the Amazon region and in the Brazilian Midwest region. Research gaps in relevant areas have been identified with limited output in the climate dimensions of tourism, vector-borne diseases, mortality and morbidity in urban centers. Such gaps should further encourage researchers to engage in research focused on those areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both global climate change and urbanization trends will demand adaptation measures in cities. Large agglomerations and impacts on landscape and natural environments due to city growth will require guided densification schemes in urban areas, particularly in developing countries. Human biometeorological indices such as the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) could guide this process, as they provide a clear account of expected effects on thermal sensation from a given change in outdoor settings. However, an earlier step should optimally include an adequacy test of suggested comfort and thermal stress ranges with calibration procedures based on surveys with the target population. This paper compares obtained thermal comfort ranges for three different locations in Brazil: Belo Horizonte, 20° S, Aw climate type; Curitiba, 25.5° S, Cfb subtropical climate, both locations in elevation (above 900 m a.s.l.); and Pelotas, at sea level, latitude 32° S, with a Cfa climate type. In each city, a set of outdoor comfort field campaigns has been carried out according to similar procedures, covering a wide range of climatic conditions over different seasons of the year. Obtained results indicate a variation of neutral temperatures up to 3 °C (UTCI units) as a possible latitude and local climate effect between the southern locations relative to the northernmost location. Low UTCI values were found in the two subtropical locations for the lower threshold of the thermal comfort band as compared with the original threshold. A possible explanation for that is a longer exposure to cold conditions as buildings are seldom provided with heating systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Thermal perception entails to a certain extent visual aspects, which are taken into account when subjects are requested to express their thermal votes to a given indoor or outdoor space. This study concentrates on human cognition and preconceptions of thermal behavior from projected 360° imagery. Urban scenes have been shown with the concurrent administration of thermal perception questionnaires to two distinct sample groups: 1) volunteer participants (n = 86) who filled out online responses to questions regarding thermal perception in undisclosed locations; 2) undergraduate students (n = 85) under temperature-controlled conditions in a computer lab. Both groups have evaluated three different 360° urban scenes with varying morphology attributes using the provided web link to the 360° VR platform Roundme. Method of analysis included means, medians, statistical significance (p-value) and percentage graphs of perceived thermal sensation. Despite the absence of any information regarding location, season and time of day of the scenes, both groups expressed different perceptions with respect to the estimated thermal conditions and thermal comfort levels for the observed urban scenes, consistently attributing windier and warmer thermal conditions to an urban square location and less so to a street canyon. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • A similar trend in thermal perception was obtained for databases with remarkable differences. • Different protocols and samples suggest there is a context-related effect on thermal perception. • The outlook of a given outdoor space affects the way we perceive it thermally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between human beings and the built environment are mediated by physiological and psychological stimuli, which may interfere in the perception and satisfaction related to indoor comfort variables. The study aims to explore the relationship between daylighting features and possible impacts on humans in regards to lighting preferences. The influence of different daylighting configurations, glazed façade orientation and season of the year on lighting preferences in human beings was evaluated by means of tests in a rotating climate with monitoring of environmental variables, developed by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany. The sample, n = 16, is composed of German male students (height SD = 1.80 m, SD = 0.06; body weight SD = 80 kg, SD = 8.9; and age SD = 24.9 years, SD = 3.6). Under controlled thermal conditions (PMV approx. ±0.5), participants remained in two office-like environments over 5 h (8:00 am to 1:00 pm - local time) three days in a row, for three seasons of the year, totaling nine days of data collection per participant. Definitions of glazed façade orientations for the experimental rounds were done by means of computer simulations. Objective variables were measured by spectroradiometers at desk height, with sensor h = ca. 0.90 m, and comfortmeters. Preferences of daylighting features was assessed by a questionnaire with Likert-scale alternatives, administered online at 8:50 am, 10:30 am and 12:30 pm. Objective and subjective data were analyzed statistically (Spearman's rho, rs), suggesting possible correlations between lighting preferences and objective variables, including: E (lx), CCT (K), DWl (nm) and the circadian metric a cv (circadian action factor). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the joint effect of atmospheric conditions and urban morphology, expressed as the Sky View Factor (SVF), on intra-urban variability. The study has been carried out in Glasgow, UK, a shrinking city with a maritime temperate climate type, and findings could guide future climate adaptation plans in terms of morphology and services provided by the municipality to overcome thermal discomfort in outdoor settings. In this case, SVF has been used as an indicator of urban morphology. The modified Pasquill-Gifford-Turner (PGT) classification system was adopted for classifying the temperature monitoring periods according to atmospheric stability conditions. Thirty two locations were selected on the basis of SVF with a wide variety of urban shapes (narrow streets, neighbourhood green spaces, urban parks, street canyons and public squares) and compared to a reference weather station during a total of twenty three transects during late spring and summer in 2013. Maximum daytime intra-urban temperature differences were found to be strongly correlated with atmospheric stability classes. Furthermore, differences in air temperature are noticeable in urban canyons, with a direct correlation to the site's SVF (or sky openness) and with an inverse trend under open-air conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel Radiant-Capacitive Heating and Cooling System. • For summer months, outdoor mean temperature drop was 1.2 K, for the daily maxima 5.2 K. • Mean cooling potential of 220 Wh/m2day. • Net cooling power of the radiator ​​between 32 W/m2 and 53 W/m2. The aim of this study is to assess the thermal performance of a low-energy Radiant-Capacitive Heating and Cooling System composed of a radiant-capacitive heating and cooling module, a sky radiator/solar collector and a thermal energy storage (water tank), operating mainly with natural energy sources. The system combines different passive strategies, namely: nocturnal radiative cooling for summer or warm periods of the year, solar heating when required, increase of thermal mass indoors with thermal activation of an indoor hydronic radiator. Experimental results are shown for the system in its cooling mode, carried out with small test cells in Curitiba, Brazil. For summer months, the system was capable of reducing the outdoor mean by on average 1.2 K with a peak temperature drop of 4 K. Corresponding offsets for the daily maxima were 5.2 K and 8.9 K, respectively. Mean cooling potential of the system, obtained in a side-by-side temperature comparison between an experimental cell with the implemented system and a control cell, resulted in daily values of up to 220 Wh/m2day. The net cooling power of the radiator during pumping hours at nighttime showed average values between 32 W/m2 and 53 W/m2, with maximum values reaching 84.5 W/m2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study analyzes classrooms, built according to a standard project of public schools in the Brazilian State of Paraná, concerning their luminic qualities. The daylighting analysis was based on computational simulations with daylighting programs, for different combinations of days, schedules and building solar orientations. Results show daylighting levels for diverse positions of the building, allowing the designer to choose the best form of building siting, considering local aspects and the quality of the resultant indoor space. Finally, shading elements were designed for each orientation in order to improve daylighting levels and the building''s thermal performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]