Global Climate Models are used for impact assessment of climate change. There is a mismatch between the spatial scales of outputs and regional impacts.
The Weather Research and Forecasting model will then be applied for dynamical downscaling simulation of the regional climate, taking the urbanization effect into account.
The resultant data from GCM and WRF outputs will be used to develop meteorological data for fine temporal scale for the assessment of building performance and indoor thermal comfort under extreme weather conditions.
Extreme cold weather types and risk assessment at the city level will be examined in this task. Socioeconomic data, including age, gender, education, population density, household conditions, employment status and mortality data at Tertiary Planning Unit will be considered in the assessment.
The latest version of the building energy (EnergyPlus) and airflow simulation software (FLUENT) will be used to evaluate the change in living environment as a result of the extreme weather as compared to the current situation.
By using the microclimate simulation tool ENVI-met, evaluation of various combinations of mitigation strategies in landscape to improve thermal comfort will be conducted.
Workshops will be held to exchange ideas about the scientific evidence with stakeholders and identify the key issues of concern and needs.
Representatives from academia and local construction industries will be invited to participate in the discussion.
Older adults aged 60 years old or above from the local communities will be invited to participate in this 10-day experience sampling study.
Participants will be prompted by their tablets to fill out a short questionnaire on their current state and interpersonal situations three times a day. A sensor will track the temperature and humidity of participants’ surrounding environment. In addition, a fitness tracker will track participants’ physiological states (e.g. heart rate and step count), which complements the self-reported and temperature data.
The epidemiological studies will compare how cold and hot weather extremes influence use of hospital services : (1) by different age groups above 60, by levels of frailty; (2) the variation by districts; (3) the implication for service provision and costs.
Adaptation measures, tailored for particular district, will be developed by a co-design approach with non-governmental orgnisations, older adults and their caregivers.