Extreme weather conditions, particularly heatwave, pose a threat to society by affecting habitability, well-being, and social interactions. In recent decades, the impact of heat stress on public health has become a global concern. Consequently, human biometeorological indices are widely used to assess the links between the outdoor environment and human well-being. This study focuses on the spatio-temporal modeling of heat indices over 32 years in Morocco and also examines heat wave trends for each index. Daily meteorological data, including air temperature and dew point temperature, were obtained between 1990 and 2022 (32 years) from the Global Surface Summary of the Day (GSOD), a climatological dataset produced by the National Climatic Data Center. Three indices were considered to assess the degree of heat stress in the outdoor environment: the Heat Index (HI), the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Index (WBGT), and the Effective Temperature Index (ET). Heat waves for each station are calculated using the 90-percentile approach for each index of at least three consecutive days, and then linear regression was used to spatialize the results with a resolution of 1 km. Our results show that Morocco has experienced numerous heat waves in recent decades. The number of heatwaves generally ranges from 0 to 3 per year. In addition, all indices point to a significant increase in heat-related risk over the years. The results also show that eastern and southern Morocco reach the severity threshold for the number of heatwave, suggesting that the majority of people living in this region are likely to be more vulnerable to certain health problems. The indices used are therefore important tools for assessing heat wave hazard in Morocco.

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Heatwaves: Case Study of Morocco

  • Sara Essoussi,
  • Mohamed Oufrad,
  • Zine El Abidine El Morjani,
  • Abderrahmane Sadiq

摘要

Extreme weather conditions, particularly heatwave, pose a threat to society by affecting habitability, well-being, and social interactions. In recent decades, the impact of heat stress on public health has become a global concern. Consequently, human biometeorological indices are widely used to assess the links between the outdoor environment and human well-being. This study focuses on the spatio-temporal modeling of heat indices over 32 years in Morocco and also examines heat wave trends for each index. Daily meteorological data, including air temperature and dew point temperature, were obtained between 1990 and 2022 (32 years) from the Global Surface Summary of the Day (GSOD), a climatological dataset produced by the National Climatic Data Center. Three indices were considered to assess the degree of heat stress in the outdoor environment: the Heat Index (HI), the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Index (WBGT), and the Effective Temperature Index (ET). Heat waves for each station are calculated using the 90-percentile approach for each index of at least three consecutive days, and then linear regression was used to spatialize the results with a resolution of 1 km. Our results show that Morocco has experienced numerous heat waves in recent decades. The number of heatwaves generally ranges from 0 to 3 per year. In addition, all indices point to a significant increase in heat-related risk over the years. The results also show that eastern and southern Morocco reach the severity threshold for the number of heatwave, suggesting that the majority of people living in this region are likely to be more vulnerable to certain health problems. The indices used are therefore important tools for assessing heat wave hazard in Morocco.