Predictive value of three thermal comfort indices in low temperatures on cardiovascular morbidity in the Iberian peninsula.

The natural environment has been considered an important determinant of cardiovascular morbidity. This work seeks to assess the impact of the winter thermal environment on hospital admissions from diseases of the circulatory system by using three biometeorological indices in five regions of the Iberian Peninsula. A theoretical index based on a thermophysiological model (Universal Thermal Climate Index [UTCI]) and two experimental biometeorological ones (Net Effective Temperature [NET] and Apparent Temperature [AT]) were estimated in two metropolitan areas of Portugal (Porto and Lisbon) and in three provinces of Spain (Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia).

Fewer clouds in the Mediterranean: consistency of observations and climate simulations.

Clouds play a major role in the climate system, but large uncertainties remain about their decadal variations. Here we report a widespread decrease in cloud cover since the 1970 s over the Mediterranean region, in particular during the 1970 s-1980 s, especially in the central and eastern areas and during springtime. Confidence in these findings is high due to the good agreement between the interannual variations of cloud cover provided by surface observations and several satellite-derived and reanalysis products, although some discrepancies exist in their trends.

Stroke: Temporal Trends and Association with Atmospheric Variables and Air Pollutants in Northern Spain.

Stroke, the second cause of death and the most frequent cause of severe disability among adults in developed countries, is related to a large variety of risk factors. This paper assesses the temporal patterns in stroke episodes in a city in Northern Spain during a 12-year period and analyzes the possible effects that atmospheric pollutants and meteorological variables may have on stroke on a daily scale. Our results show that there is an increase in stroke admissions (r = 0.

The Influence of Nitrogen Dioxide on Arrhythmias in Spain and Its Relationship with Atmospheric Circulation.

Epidemiological studies suggest that increased ambient NO concentrations are associated with cardiovascular disease. However, none of them have examined the association between ambient air pollution and cardiac arrhythmias in the general population in Spain. This paper assesses the short-term association between the aforementioned air pollutant and hospital admissions for arrhythmia in nine different regions of Spain during a 6-year period (2005-2010), and the possible season-specific effects of the compound on this pathology, by performing a time-series analysis based on Poisson regression models.

Response of vegetation to drought time-scales across global land biomes.

We evaluated the response of the Earth land biomes to drought by correlating a drought index with three global indicators of vegetation activity and growth: vegetation indices from satellite imagery, tree-ring growth series, and Aboveground Net Primary Production (ANPP) records. Arid and humid biomes are both affected by drought, and we suggest that the persistence of the water deficit (i.e.