TY - JOUR

T1 - ClimApp - integrating personal factors with weather forecasts for individualised warning and guidance on thermal stress

AU - Kingma, Boris René Motrona

AU - Steenhoff, Henriette

AU - Toftum, Jørn

AU - Daanen, Hein A M

AU - Folkerts, Mireille A

AU - Gerrett, N

AU - Gao, C

AU - Kuklane, K

AU - Petersson, Jennifer

AU - Halder, Antarip

AU - Zuurbier, Moniek

AU - Garland, Stephen W

AU - Nybo, Lars

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - This paper describes the functional development of the ClimApp tool (available for free on iOS and Android devices), which combines current and 24 h weather forecasting with individual information to offer personalised guidance related to thermal exposure. Heat and cold stress assessments are based on ISO standards and thermal models where environmental settings and personal factors are integrated into the ClimApp index ranging from −4 (extremely cold) to +4 (extremely hot), while a range of −1 and +1 signifies low thermal stress. Advice for individuals or for groups is available, and the user can customise the model input according to their personal situation, including activity level, clothing, body characteristics, heat acclimatisation, indoor or outdoor situation, and geographical location. ClimApp output consists of a weather summary, a brief assessment of the thermal situation, and a thermal stress warning. Advice is provided via infographics and text depending on the user profile. ClimApp is available in 10 languages: English, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Hellenic (Greek), Italian, German, Spanish and French. The tool also includes a research functionality providing a platform for worker and citizen science projects to collect individual data on physical thermal strain and the experienced thermal strain. The application may therefore improve the translation of heat and cold risk assessments and guidance for subpopulations. ClimApp provides the framework for personalising and downscaling weather reports, alerts and advice at the personal level, based on GPS location and adjustable input of individual factors.

AB - This paper describes the functional development of the ClimApp tool (available for free on iOS and Android devices), which combines current and 24 h weather forecasting with individual information to offer personalised guidance related to thermal exposure. Heat and cold stress assessments are based on ISO standards and thermal models where environmental settings and personal factors are integrated into the ClimApp index ranging from −4 (extremely cold) to +4 (extremely hot), while a range of −1 and +1 signifies low thermal stress. Advice for individuals or for groups is available, and the user can customise the model input according to their personal situation, including activity level, clothing, body characteristics, heat acclimatisation, indoor or outdoor situation, and geographical location. ClimApp output consists of a weather summary, a brief assessment of the thermal situation, and a thermal stress warning. Advice is provided via infographics and text depending on the user profile. ClimApp is available in 10 languages: English, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Hellenic (Greek), Italian, German, Spanish and French. The tool also includes a research functionality providing a platform for worker and citizen science projects to collect individual data on physical thermal strain and the experienced thermal strain. The application may therefore improve the translation of heat and cold risk assessments and guidance for subpopulations. ClimApp provides the framework for personalising and downscaling weather reports, alerts and advice at the personal level, based on GPS location and adjustable input of individual factors.

KW - Cold assessment

KW - Heat assessment

KW - Human thermal models

KW - Mobile application

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85117951648&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/ijerph182111317

DO - 10.3390/ijerph182111317

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34769832

AN - SCOPUS:85117951648

VL - 18

JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

SN - 1661-7827

IS - 21

M1 - 11317

ER -