Preface

抄録

 Biometeorology as a discipline of environmental biology has arisen from the need to analyze and understand whether and how environmental parameters assessed by meteorologists affect bodily functions. In general, the climate in which a population exists is defined by meteorological parameters. In particular, the impact of extreme local climatic parameters on human working performance has received early and increasing attention.

 In the course of scientific progress, research in biometeorology has expanded beyond its original definition for different reasons. Living subjects of investigation now range from micro-organisms to plants, to animals, including humans. Ecological aspects receive increasing attention. Humans have developed techniques and strategies to survive in extreme habitats. As a result, the term "environment" has become more broadly conceived by biometeorology as a field of research encompassing environmental impacts on life in general. A multitude of geophysical and geochemical factors have become incorporated. Investigation of diverse physical and chemical factors proceeds at macro- as well as micro-environmental levels. Along the same lines, biometeorology has expanded beyond the terrestrial sphere through the study of the impact of cosmic environmental factors.

 One of the most attractive aspects of studies in biometeorology is the usefulness of the interdisciplinary approach. Classical research in the field of physiologists, biochemists, and clinicians increasingly takes advantage of the contributions of experts in the fields of molecular biology, microbiology, epidemiology, engineering, geography, climatology, meteorology and others. Multi-disciplinary variability is considered essential to assessing new unique and valuable research results in bio-meteorological studies. For this reason, it is the aim of this special issue of our journal to mutually inform researchers working on various aspects of biometeorology with the hope of promoting joint multi-disciplinary research.

 There is increasing awareness of the problems arising from global warming. Causes are still mostly regional, e.g., enhanced fossil fuel consumption and air pollution in industrialized countries and progressing deforestation and desertification in developing countries. However the effects are global and are already becoming a serious threat to climatically sensitive regions of the world. The contributions to this special issue consider various regional health problems attributable to regional climatic changes and disastrous climatic regional events associated with changes in global atmospheric circulation. In the future, regional impacts of global climate change will become a focus of interest in Biometeorology. As an example, increasing annual temperatures coincide with deteriorating freshwater supplies for drinking and agriculture, especially in hot and arid climates. In addition to the general impairment of human living conditions due to scarcity of food and water, combined heat stress and dehydration will increase the incidence of life threatening heat disorders, especially, if they are aggravated by water and electrolyte losses due to dysenteric diseases caused by drinking contaminated water. One of the apparent consequences is enhanced migration pressure which will increase further, unless adequate measures are taken locally to improve human health and living conditions.