Attitudes of people toward climate change regarding the bioclimatic comfort level in tourism cities; evidence from Antalya, Turkey

In addition to several negative environmental effects, climate change, which reduces bioclimatic comfort levels especially in urban areas, also has economic implications, especially in cities where the economic structure is tourism-oriented. Considering most of the tourism practices are based on outdoor activities in cities such as Antalya, it is of great importance to determine bioclimatic comfort level as well as the attitudes of people toward climate change who live in those conditions to be able to take proper precautions in terms of tourism and urban planning. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to reveal the bioclimatic comfort conditions of Antalya city center, and a comprehensive questionnaire was conducted with the people living in the area questioning the opinions on reasons and consequences of climate change, perceivable effects of climate change in Antalya, and suggestions to prevent or reduce the adverse effects. The areas with appropriate bioclimatic comfort conditions were determined and mapped via geographical information systems using temperature and relative humidity data of the years between 1960 and 2018. The data gathered via questionnaires were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, regression, correlation, and structural equation modelling via SPSS and AMOS software. According to the results, it was determined that in some parts of city center the bioclimatic comfort conditions decreased to levels that could reach harmful dimensions for human health and the analysis of the questionnaires revealed that people living in that area state that the effects of climate change are perceivable as the precipitation seasons have become irregular. According to the participants, it was determined that a 1-unit increase in environmental measures causes a decrease of 0.136 units in disasters (R² = 1.1%). In comparison, 1-unit increase of Administrative Precautions will cause 0.030 units decrease in effects of climate change on vital needs (R² = 1.4%). These analysis results show that the respondents expect the disaster scenarios to decrease when environmental measures are increased.

Investigation of the relationship between bioclimatic comfort and land use by using GIS and RS techniques in Trabzon

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between bioclimatic comfort and land use in Trabzon by using geographical information systems and remote sensing technologies. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between the bioclimatic conditions of the years 1985, 1994, 2005, and 2018 with the use of land in the same years in the province of Trabzon in seasonal and annual periods. Physiological equivalent temperature (PET) index, which takes into consideration the physiological characteristics of humans, was used when determining bioclimatic comfort zones. The meteorological parameters used in the calculation of this index are as follows: daily average temperature values reduced to sea level, daily average relative humidity, and wind speed. The inverse distance weighting (IDW) method was preferred in the calculation of the spatial distribution of the obtained values at sea level. Using DEM data, height-dependent PET values were obtained and bioclimatic comfort maps were generated. According to the years of the bioclimatic comfort maps produced, land use maps were created by using CORINE land cover data. Then, the relationship between bioclimatic comfort zones and land use was examined.

Determining the bioclimatic comfort in Kastamonu City

Bioclimatic comfort defines the optimal climatic conditions in which people feel healthy and dynamic. Bioclimatic comfort mapping methods are useful to urban managers and planners. For the purposes of planning, climatic conditions, as determined by bioclimatic comfort assessments, are important. Bioclimatic components such as temperature, relative humidity, and wind speeds are important in evaluating bioclimatic comfort. In this study of the climate of Kastamonu province, the most suitable areas in terms of bioclimatic comfort have been identified. In this context, climate values belonging to the province of Kastamonu are taken from a total of nine meteorological stations. Altitude (36-1050 m) between stations is noted for revealing climatic changes. The data collected from these stations, including average temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed values are transferred to geographical information system (GIS) using ArcMap 10.2.2 software. GIS maps created from the imported data has designated the most suitable comfort areas in and around the city of Kastamonu. As a result, the study shows that Kastamonu has suitable ranges for bioclimatic comfort zone. The range of bioclimatic comfort value for Kastamonu is 17.6 °C. It is between a comfort ranges which is 15-20 °C. Kastamonu City has suitable area for bioclimatic comfort.