The aim of this work was to determine the criteria for heat loads associated with an increase in mortality in different climatic regions of Croatia. The relationship between heat stress and mortality ...was analysed for the period 1983–2008. The input series is excess mortality defined as the deviations of mortality from expected values determined by means of a Gaussian filter of 183 days. The assessment of the thermal environment was performed by means of physiologically equivalent temperature (PET). The curve depicting the relationship between mortality and temperature has a U shape, with increased mortality in both the cold and warm parts of the scale but more pronounced in the warm part. The threshold temperature for increased mortality was determined using a scatter plot and fitting data by means of moving average of mortality; the latter is defined as the temperature at which excess mortality becomes significant. The values are higher in the continental part of Croatia than at the coast due to the refreshing influence of the sea during the day. The same analysis on a monthly basis shows that at the beginning of the warm season increased mortality occurs at a lower temperature compared with later on in the summer, and the difference is up to 15 °C between August and April. The increase in mortality is highest during the first 3–5 days and after that it decreases and falls below the expected value. Long-lasting heat waves present an increased risk, but in very long heat waves the increase in mortality is reduced due to mortality displacement.
Climate is an important resource for tourism and must be taken into account in tourism promotions. Here, a climate leaflet containing climatological and bioclimatological information for tourists is ...presented. The bioclimatological conditions are portrayed using mean values and frequency of thermal sensation based on physiologically equivalent temperature for 10-day intervals covering the whole year, along with air and sea temperature, sunshine duration, amount and number of days with precipitation and wind roses. In addition, the Climate Tourism Information Scheme is included. When combined with climatological and bioclimatological conditions, this scheme is valuable for tourists as it enables them to choose the most suitable time period for holidays, with the choice depending on personal preferences and requirements. The information provided here assists the tourism industry and stakeholders in decision-making. As an example, the bioclimatological leaflet for Hvar, an island off the Croatian Adriatic coast, is presented.
A key element in the product mix of destinations is climate. Climate represents a critical part of a destination’s economic and resource base such that changes in climate will trigger human responses ...in terms of demand and the type of activities that the climate will support. This threatens the competitiveness, sustainability, and economic viability of destinations. This research note focuses on destination adaptation to climate change that is anticipatory not reactive, based on projecting future climate scenarios for a destination and then assessing the tourism products that the future climate will support. It outlines an original data-driven approach to adaptation that is generalizable to other destinations. The research note describes an exploratory research collaboration in Croatia between tourism and climate scientists that allows, first, the modeling of a destination’s projected climate conditions and, second, the products and activities that can be supported by these climate scenarios using climate indices for tourism.
Snow load is an important climatic element that is, together with minimum and maximum temperatures and wind load, a part of the national annex of standards for the design of structures. In ...particular, the characteristic snow load, defined as the maximum snow load at the ground for the 50-year return period, has to be estimated and a map has to be supplied as part of the national annex. The method for the estimation of this parameter at the station locations is presented, followed by the geostatistical mapping procedure used to estimate this parameter for the whole territory of Croatia. Snow load is defined as a product of snow density, snow depth and gravitational acceleration. Although snow depths are measured at a large number of meteorological stations, snow loads are not easy to estimate because of very few snow density measurements. To overcome this, snow density was fitted to snow depth data using linear regression according to the daily pairs of values from 13 meteorological stations. Since snow density changes with elevations and seasons, the stations are divided into three subsets according to station elevation (lower than 600 m, 600–1000 m high and higher than 1000 m) and the regression equations are also built on a monthly basis. These modelling results allowed the estimation of the snow load at 96 low-elevation stations, eight higher elevation stations and one high-altitude station based on the monthly maximum snow depths and the model estimated snow densities. Based on the monthly maximum snow loads, the series of maximum annual snow loads can be calculated for 118 locations. These series of annual maximum snow loads are the basis for the estimation of the annual maximum snow load values for the 50-year return period, by means of an extreme value distribution.
Finally, the estimated annual maximum snow load values for the 50-year return period at 118 stations constitute the input for the geostatistical procedure of mapping this parameter for the territory of Croatia.
The number of individuals allergic to plant pollen has recently been on a constant increase, especially in large cities and industrial areas. Therefore, monitoring of airborne pollen types and ...concentrations during the pollen season is of the utmost medical importance. The research reported in this paper aims to determine the beginning, course and end of the pollen season for the plants in the City of Zagreb, to identify allergenic plants, and to assess the variation in airborne pollen concentration as a function of temperature and precipitation changes for the year 2002. A volumetric Hirst sampler was used for airborne pollen sampling. Qualitative and quantitative pollen analysis was performed under a light microscope (magnification x400). In the Zagreb area, 12 groups of highly allergenic plants (alder, hazel, cypress, birch, ash, hornbeam, grasses, elder, nettles, sweet chestnut, artemisia and ambrosia) were identified. Birch pollen predominated in spring, the highest concentrations being recorded in February and March. Grass pollen prevailed in May and June, and pollen of herbaceous plants of the genus Urtica (nettle) and of ambrosia in July, August and September. Air temperature was mostly higher or considerably higher than the annual average in those months, which resulted in a many days with high and very high airborne pollen concentrations. The exception was April, when these concentrations were lower because of high levels of precipitation. This also held for the first half of August and the second half of September. Pollen-sensitive individuals were at high risk from February till October because of the high airborne pollen concentrations, which only showed a transient decrease when the temperature fell or there was precipitation.
Daily maximum and minimum temperatures from 29 low-lying and mountain stations of 7 countries in Central Europe were analyzed. The analysis of the annual variation of diurnal temperature range helps ...to distinguish unique climatic characteristics of high and low altitude stations. A comparison of the time series of extreme daily temperatures as well as mean temperature shows a good agreement between the low-lying stations and the mountain stations. Many of the pronounced warm and cold periods are present in all time series and are therefore representative for the whole region. A linear trend analysis of the station data for the period 1901-1990 (19 stations) and 1951-1990 (all 29 stations) shows spatial patterns of similar changes in maximum and minimum daily temperatures and diurnal temperature range. Mountain stations show only small changes of the diurnal temperature range over the 1901-1990 period, whereas the low-lying stations in the western part of the Alps show a significant decrease of diurnal temperature range, caused by strong increase of the minimum temperature. For the shorter period 1951-1990, the diurnal temperature range decreases at the western low-lying stations, mainly in spring, whereas it remains roughly constant at the mountain stations. The decrease of diurnal temperature range is stronger in the western part than in the eastern part of the Alps.
Tourism is one of the most important economic sectors in Croatia. The Adriatic coast is a popular travel destination for tourists, especially during the summer months. During their activities, ...tourists are affected by atmospheric conditions and therefore by weather and climate. Therefore, it is important to have reliable information about thermal conditions as well as their impacts on human beings. Here, the climate tourism potential of Croatia is presented and quantified on the basis of three selected stations in different climatic regions. The physiologically equivalent temperature is used for analysis as well as other climatic parameters relevant for tourism and recreation. The results already point to hot conditions for outdoor activities in summer during afternoons, especially along the coast but also for continental regions, resulting in a reduction of the climate tourism potential. In the future, this trend looks set to increase, possibly leading to a changing tourism sector in Croatia requiring adaptation and new strategies.
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