Biometeorology
The biometeorology (formed from ancient Greek βίος bíos , German , life ' , μετέωρον meteoron , German , celestial phenomenon, meteor' and λόγος lógos , German , teaching ' ) is a branch of meteorology and interdisciplinary science. It deals with direct and indirect relationships between the atmosphere and space and biological systems such as humans and entire ecosystems . Synonymous terms are medical meteorology , bioclimatology , medical climatology and meteoro-biology , colloquially bioweather . The question is about the relationship between weather and health .
Areas
Biometeorological disciplines are phytological biometeorology, which deals with weather influences on plant growth and geographical spread, zoological biometeorology, human biometeorology and other areas. Biometeorology is closely interlinked with the life sciences and in particular with ecology and, in relation to mostly higher mammals, with medicine .
Objects of investigation and tasks
The reaction of biological (and also purely biochemical) processes to weather influences is called biotropy , while the corresponding reactions of entire biological systems are called meteorotropy .
A majority of the population confirmed in opinion polls to be sensitive to the weather . However, the relationships themselves are mostly of a complex nature, sometimes difficult to prove and sometimes contradicting one another.
Investigating the effects of strong natural electromagnetic fields such as thunderstorms ; The natural sferics are also the subject of biometeorological research.
history
Humans have been concerned with the influences of weather and climate as well as their geographical position on their state of health since ancient times . The Nisaba song from the 4th millennium BC BC (Tell Halaf culture see also the Gilgamesh epic ) gives the first traditional biometeorological information. There is another such reference in the Book of Job in the Old Testament . In the 5th century BC The Hippocratic writing “Luft, Wasser, Lage” was created in the 3rd century BC and is devoted to these questions in detail. Hippocrates describes in it the frequent encounter of tropical air with inflammation and polar air with colic. For diseases of the lungs, Galen recommended changing the climate.
The Frisian " Lex Frisionum " from the 9th century expressly refers to the effects of the weather when assessing the penalty for bodily harm, which must be taken into account in the compensation for pain and suffering.
Alexander von Humboldt (1796–1859) emphasized the importance of the atmosphere for plant growth, including human health, and introduced the term climate .
The modern term biometeorology originated in 1956 at a symposium in Paris.
Methods and sizes
In an interdisciplinary way, biometeorology relies on observational physiological studies, weather simulations in climatic chambers and statistical analysis of existing meteorological and medical data. The working methods of microclimatology are essentially used .
Human biometeorology primarily determines the special conditions under which the human organism works. The most important is the perceived temperature and with it wind chill and humidex . The specific differences in the weather tolerance of healthy and sick people are also of interest.
The Predicted Mean Vote ( PMV ) is often used to assess the climate in terms of temperature perception, a quantity calculated from the comfort equation that indicates how many people are likely to rate a climate as unpleasant. The Climate Michel Model of the German Weather Service , for example, uses the PMV to make statements about the well-being of an average person. This "Michel" is 1.75 m tall, weighs 75 kg, has a body surface area of 1.9 m² and is around 35 years old.
Medicine-meteorological forecasts
The results of meteorological research led to the introduction of various warning services to warn people who are sensitive to the weather, or to warn certain population groups of various weather-related impairments (e.g. due to foehn wind ) or weather-related allergen concentrations , dust pollution or ozone pollution . For about 15 years the media have been distributing daily "bio-weather reports".
However, only a few influences have been scientifically proven. In particular, forecasts that make certain weather conditions responsible for specific complaints are problematic. Jürgen Kleinschmitt from the University of Munich calls such forecasts "similar to horoscopes". Hans Richner from ETH Zurich said: "To warn of colic, scar pain and other complaints is nonsense".
Literature on the subject
- Alexander von Humboldt : Cosmos. Volume 1. JG Cotta'scher Verlag, Stuttgart et al. 1845, pp. 340, 361.
- Volker Faust : Biometeorology. The influence of weather and climate on the healthy and the sick. Special edition. Hippokrates, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-7773-0394-1 .
- Solco W. Tromp : Medical Biometeorology. Weather, Climate and the Living Organism. Elsevier, Amsterdam et al. 1963.
- Thomas Kistemann: climatology, medical. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin and New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 756 f.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Experts consider bio-weather forecasts to be nonsense Spiegel Online from October 11, 2009.
