Simpson Charles H, Brousse Oscar, Ebi Kristie L, Heaviside Clare
Institute of Environmental Design and Engineering, Bartlett School of Environment Energy and Resources, University College London, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London, UK.
Center for Health and the Global Environment, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
NPJ Clim Atmos Sci. 2023 Jul 5;6(1). doi: 10.1038/s41612-023-00408-0.
Irrigation and urban greening can mitigate extreme temperatures and reduce adverse health impacts from heat. However, some recent studies suggest these interventions could actually exacerbate heat stress by increasing humidity. These studies use different heat stress indices (HSIs), hindering intercomparisons of the relative roles of temperature and humidity. Our method uses calculus of variations to compare the sensitivity of HSIs to temperature and humidity, independent of HSI units. We explain the properties of different HSIs and identify conditions under which they disagree. We highlight recent studies where the use of different HSIs could have led to opposite conclusions. Our findings have significant implications for the evaluation of irrigation and urban greening as adaptive responses to overheating and climate adaptation measures in general. We urge researchers to be critical in their choice of HSIs, especially in relation to health outcomes; our method provides a useful tool for making informed comparisons.
灌溉和城市绿化可以缓解极端温度，并减少高温对健康的不利影响。然而，最近的一些研究表明，这些干预措施实际上可能会因增加湿度而加剧热应激。这些研究使用了不同的热应激指数（HSIs），这妨碍了对温度和湿度相对作用的相互比较。我们的方法使用变分法来比较热应激指数对温度和湿度的敏感性，而不受热应激指数单位的影响。我们解释了不同热应激指数的特性，并确定了它们存在分歧的条件。我们强调了最近的一些研究，其中使用不同的热应激指数可能导致相反的结论。我们的研究结果对于评估灌溉和城市绿化作为对过热的适应性反应以及一般的气候适应措施具有重要意义。我们敦促研究人员在选择热应激指数时要谨慎，特别是在涉及健康结果方面；我们的方法为进行明智的比较提供了一个有用的工具。
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