Prof. Qihao Weng, Director of JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and the Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and his team, has recently featured in Croucher News of Croucher Foundation for their two significant research papers. The papers examine methods for measuring dangerous heatwave situation and analyze its spatial patterns across Asian regions under both historical and various future climate scenarios.
Prof. Weng’s research highlights the challenges of existing methods of measuring heatwave severity across divers geographic and climatic regions. Published in Nexus, the study examines six commonly used heat indices and their limitations in identifying the condition of dangerous heat wave situation in low humid regions, emphasizing the critical need to include humidity and indoor conditions in heatwave assessments. A companion paper published Habitat International heat stress variations across divers climatic regions of Asia, revealing significant disparities between urban and rural population exposure to heat stress areas, particularly in Northern India and Eastern China region.
“Policymakers must prioritize investments to protect vulnerable communities by developing infrastructure and mitigation strategies”, Prof. Weng told Croucher News. He also emphasized public awareness, recommending that people stay informed through government forecasting platforms and take necessary precautions during extreme heat wave events.
Full article on Croucher News: https://croucher.org.hk/en/news/hong-kong-study-looks-to-improve-how-we-measure-the-severity-of-heatwaves
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