19The existing assessment procedures of the thermal environment in the fields of public weather 20 services, public health systems, precautionary planning, urban design, tourism & recreation 21and climate impact research show significant shortcomings. This is most evident for simple 22 (mostly two-parameter) indices, when comparing them to complete heat budget models 23 developed since the 1960s. ISB Commission 6 took up the idea to develop a Universal 24 Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) which was to be based on the most advanced multi-node 25 model of thermoregulation representing the progress in science within the last 3 to 4 decades, 26 both in thermo-physiological and heat exchange theory. (FPC) was adopted for this study. The model was extensively validated applying as yet 5 unused data from other research groups, and extended for purposes of the project. This model 6 was coupled with a state-of-the-art clothing model considering the behavioural adaptation of 7 clothing insulation by the general urban population to actual environmental temperature. 8 UTCI was then derived conceptually as an Equivalent Temperature (ET). Thus, for any 9 combination of air temperature, wind, radiation, and humidity (stress), UTCI is defined as the 10 air temperature of the reference condition which would elicit the same dynamic response 11 (strain) of the physiological model as the actual conditions. As UTCI is based on 12 contemporary science its use will standardize applications in the major fields of human 13 biometeorology thus making research results comparable and physiologically relevant. 14 15

This paper presents the spatial differentiation to biothermal conditions in the Ziemia Kłodzka region of Poland, the basis for the assessment being the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), with spatial analysis relating to maps made using a GIS application. The differentiation to UTCI values was defined for several types of weather.The greatest spatial differentiation to values for heat stress is to be observed in sunny, hot and dry weather in the presence of only gentle winds. Forests stand out from other types of landscape in the way they mitigate heat loads significantly.

Hot ambient conditions and associated heat stress can increase mortality and morbidity, as well as increase adverse pregnancy outcomes and negatively affect mental health. High heat stress can also reduce physical work capacity and motor-cognitive performances, with consequences for productivity, and increase the risk of occupational health problems. Almost half of the global population and more than 1 billion workers are exposed to high heat episodes and about a third of all exposed workers have negative health effects. However, excess deaths and many heat-related health risks are preventable, with appropriate heat action plans involving behavioural strategies and biophysical solutions. Extreme heat events are becoming permanent features of summer seasons worldwide, causing many excess deaths. Heat-related morbidity and mortality are projected to increase further as climate change progresses, with greater risk associated with higher degrees of global warming. Particularly in tropical regions, increased warming might mean that physiological limits related to heat tolerance (survival) will be reached regularly and more often in coming decades. Climate change is interacting with other trends, such as population growth and ageing, urbanisation, and socioeconomic development, that can either exacerbate or ameliorate heat-related hazards. Urban temperatures are further enhanced by anthropogenic heat from vehicular transport and heat waste from buildings. Although there is some evidence of adaptation to increasing temperatures in high-income countries, projections of a hotter future suggest that without investment in research and risk management actions, heat-related morbidity and mortality are likely to increase.

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Please note: more background information is provided in the uploaded files for 'Electronic supplementary Material' which after publication can be downloaded from the Journal's website. 2 AbstractRegional variation in sweating over the body is widely recognised. However, most studies only measured a limited number of regions, with the use of differing thermal states across studies making a good meta-analysis to obtain a whole body map problematic. A study was therefore conducted to investigate regional sweat rates (RSR) and distributions over the whole body in male athletes. A modified absorbent technique was used to collect sweat at two exercise intensities (55% (I1) and 75% (I2) all regions from the low to high exercise intensity, with exception to the feet and ankles. No significant correlation was present between RSR and regional skin temperature (T sk ), nor did RSR correspond to known patterns of regional sweat gland density. The present study has provided detailed regional sweat data over the whole body and has demonstrated large intra-and inter-segmental variation and the presence of consistent patterns of regional high versus low sweat rate areas in Caucasians male athletes. This data may have important applications for clothing design, thermophysiological modelling and thermal manikin design.