HadISDH.extremes Part Ⅱ:Exploring Humid Heat Extremes Using Wet Bulb Temperature Indices

Heat events may be humid or dry.While several indices incorporate humidity,such combined indices obscure identification and exploration of heat events by their different humidity characteristics.The new HadISDH.extremes global gridded monitoring product uniquely provides a range of wet and dry bulb temperature extremes indices.Analysis of this new data product demonstrates its value as a tool for quantifying exposure to humid verses dry heat events.It also enables exploration into“stealth heat events”,where humidity is high,perhaps enough to affect productivity and health,while temperature remains moderate.Such events may not typically be identified as“heat events”by temperature-focused heat indices.Over 1973-2022,the peak magnitude of humid extremes(maximum daily wet bulb temperature over a month;T_(w)X)for the global annual mean increased significantly at 0.13±0.04℃(10 yr)^(−1),which is slightly slower than the global annual mean T_(w) increase of 0.22±0.04℃(10 yr)^(−1).The frequency of moderate humid extreme events per year(90th per-centile daily maxima wet bulb temperature exceedance;T_(w)X90p)also increased significantly at 4.61±1.07 d yr^(−1)(10 yr)^(−1).These rates were slower than for temperature extremes,TX and TX90p,which respectively increased significantly at 0.27±0.04℃(10 yr)^(−1) and 5.53±0.72 d yr^(−1)(10 yr)^(−1).Similarly,for the UK/Europe focus region,JJA-mean T_(w)X increased significantly,again at a slower rate than for TX and mean T_(w).HadISDH.extremes shows some evidence of“stealth heat events”occurring where humidity is high but temperature remains more moderate.

HadISDH.extremes Part Ⅰ:A Gridded Wet Bulb Temperature Extremes Index Product for Climate Monitoring

HadISDH.extremes is an annually updated global gridded monthly monitoring product of wet and dry bulb temperature–based extremes indices,from January 1973 to December 2022.Data quality,including spatial and temporal stability,is a key focus.The hourly data are quality controlled.Homogeneity is assessed on monthly means and used to score each gridbox according to its homogeneity rather than to apply adjustments.This enables user-specific screening for temporal stability and avoids errors from inferring adjustments from monthly means for the daily maximum values.For general use,a score(HQ Flag)of 0 to 6 is recommended.A range of indices are presented,aligning with existing standardised indices.Uniquely,provision of both wet and dry bulb indices allows exploration of heat event character—whether it is a“humid and hot”,“dry and hot”or“humid and warm”event.It is designed for analysis of long-term trends in regional features.HadISDH.extremes can be used to study local events,but given the greater vulnerability to errors of maximum compared to mean values,cross-validation with independent information is advised.

Long-Term Changes in Summer Extreme Wet Bulb Globe Temperature over China

The wet bulb globe temperature(WBGT)has important implication for human health.Previous studies widely use the monthly data but rarely investigate the extreme WBGT because of data limitation.In this study,we use 6-h station data to analyze the changes in the WBGT and three categories(intensity,absolute threshold,and frequency indices)of extreme WBGT indices in summers of 1961-2017.It is found that the spatial distributions of long-term trends in summer mean WBGT are consistent with those in the mean temperature.The trend value of WBGT is smaller than the mean temperature,because of the decrease of relative humidity.For the extreme indices,the intensity and frequency of WBGT and fixed threshold indices have changed.The increase of intensity indices and warm WBGT days and nights,and decrease of cold WBGT days and nights have been observed in most China,especially over northwestern China.The number of days with daily maximum WBGT exceeding 31.4℃(WXge31)and minimum WBGT exceeding 27.9℃(WNge27)over southeastern China have increased since 1961.The spread of probability distributions of WXge31,WNge27,and warm WBGT days and nights is becoming wider,reflecting increased variability of extreme indices.In addition,urbanization effects on the WBGT are investigated.The impacts of urbanization on most of extreme WBGT indices are not detected,except for absolute thresholds indices.This may be due to the decrease of relative humidity in urban stations,which are almost two times larger than that in rural stations.However,we also note that the homogenization issue of humidity data may affect the conclusions.

Exertional heat illness risk factors and physiological responses of youth football players

Objective:To determine which intrinsic and extrinsic exertional heat illness(EHI)risk factors exist in youth American football players and observe perceptual and physiological responses of players during events(games and practices).Methods:Cross-sectional cohort study observing 63 youth football players,varying in position.Independent variables were league(weightrestricted(WR,n=27)and age-restricted(AR,n=36))and event type.Dependent variables were anthropometrics,work-to-rest ratio,and wet bulb globe temperature.Descriptive variables included preparticipation examination and uniform configuration.A subset of 16 players participated in physiological variables(heart rate and gastrointestinal temperature).Data collection occurred on 7 AR and 8 WR nonconsecutive practices and the first 3 games of the season.Results:Mean values for anthropometric variables were higher(p<0.05)in the AR league than the WR league.Work time(χ^2(1,111)=4.232;p=0.039)and rest time(χ^2(1,111)=43.41;p<0.001)were significantly greater for games,but ratios were significantly higher for practices(χ^2(1,111)=40.62;p<0.001).The majority of events(77%)observed were in black and red flag wet bulb globe temperature risk categories.A total of 57%of the players had a preparticipation examination,and up to 82%of events observed were in full uniforms.Individual gastrointestinal temperature and heart rate responses ranged widely and no players reached critical thresholds.Conclusion:Extrinsic(disproportionate work ratios,environmental conditions)and intrinsic(higher body mass index)EHI risk factors exist in youth football.Certain risk factors may be influenced by event and league type.National youth football organizations need to create thorough guidelines that address EHI risk factors for local leagues to adopt.