Lightning is a natural hazard that significantly impacts human safety, infrastructures, and ecosystems. In recent decades, it has been monitored as a key indicator of severe weather and to understand climate change. This work examines the behaviour of lightning in Cuba from 2018 to 2022 using the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) onboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16 (GOES-16). We focused the analysis on the annual trends and spatial distribution of the keraunic level, i.e., the number of thunderstorm days and the total and cloud-to-ground lightning flash density. Our results showed a GLM efficiency of ~60-70% for detecting thunderstorms, which is aligned with previous studies using surface weather station data. In addition, we obtained an equation to determine the relationship between the number of thunderstorm days and the cloud-to-ground lightning flash density per year over an area of 1 km². Overall, this research resulted in the first keraunic level map developed for Cuba, using geostationary satellite data, and it provided the first maps of the total and cloud-to-ground lightning flash density. Although the keraunic level values were underestimated compared with reports from weather stations, they captured the characteristic climatic behaviour of thunderstorms in the study area. In summary, our findings demonstrate the feasibility of using GLM data to study thunderstorms and lightning activity in Cuba.

The toxic metal(loid)s bound to particulate matter (PM) in ambient air can cause serious harm to human health. The current study aimed to investigate the toxic element composition of PM10 (diameter up to 10 µm) and to address the risks to human health.

Sampling of PM10 was performed at five sites (basic-rural/urban, urban-/suburban-traffic, industrial) in the City of Novi Sad during 2024. A total of 1357 samples was subjected to microwave digestion followed by the ICP-MS determination of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and nickel (Ni) content.

The overall share of the samples with quantified amounts of elements was 85.3% Pb > 65.2% As > 36.6% Cd > 27.7% Ni. The lowest mean concentrations (ng/m³) were recorded at the basic-urban site (Pb 4.5, Cd 0.15, As 0.80, Ni 3,0), while the highest were related to the suburban-traffic (Pb 5.9, Cd 0.24, As 0.83) and urban-traffic site (Ni 4.2); the order of the concentrations averaged over all monitored sites (ng/m³) was as follows: Pb 5.1 > Ni 3.4 > As 0.80 > Cd 0.20. The Hazard index (HI), an indicator of non-carcinogenic risk, ranged from 0.29 in the basic-rural/-urban to 0.38 in the suburban-traffic site, with a mean of0.32 (averaging over all the sites), revealing no health risk. Ni was the element with by far the highest contribution to non-carcinogenic risk (68.3%). Carcinogenic risk for children ranged from 6.8E-07 (basic-urban) to 7.6E-07 (urban-traffic), with a mean of7.2E-07, showing negligible risk. In the case of adults, carcinogenic risk varied only slightly, with a mean of2.9E-06, indicating low risk. As was the element with by far the highest contribution to carcinogenic risk (68.7%), followed by Ni (16.1%), Pb (8.0%), and Cd (7.2%).

Considering that toxic metal(loid)s are ubiquitous contaminants, low levels of risk indicators related to the inhalation exposure are not enough to ensure protection of human health.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the ambient air can pose serious health risks for humans when inhaled and are usually adsorbed on particulate matter (PM). The current study aimed to investigate the content of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), the most famous representative of PAHs, in PM10 (inhalable PM, with diameter up to 10 µm) in ambient air in the City of Novi Sad and to assess the associated health risks.

PM10 sampling performed at five monitoring sites (basic-rural/urban, urban/suburban-traffic, industrial) in the City of Novi Sad during 2024 resulted in1340 samples, which were analyzed using the GC-MS method.

The overall share of the samples with quantified amounts of BaP was 46.6 (53.8% basic-rural > 53.7% suburban-traffic > 49.3% industrial > 45.2% urban-traffic > 34.6% basic-urban site). The lowest mean concentration was recorded at the basic-urban site (0.5 ng/m³), while the highest was related to suburban-traffic (0.9 ng/m³); when averaged over all monitored sites, the BaP level was 0.7 ng/m³. The annual level of BAP was in compliance with regulatory requirements. The health risks were estimated using the hazard quotient (HQ) and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) approaches. The HQ was below the limit value of 1 in all monitored sites (0.24-0.47, overall average 0.37), indicating no risk. LCR was negligible for both children (from 4.5E-08 to 8.0E-08, mean 6.4E-08) and adults (from 1.8E-07 to 3.2E-07, mean 2.5E-07).

Although the estimated values ​​of the risk indicators are low, the population is still exposed not only to BaP but also to other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, with some of them also being carcinogens. As exposure occursnot only via inhalation but also through the consumption of foods such as grilled and smoked food, it is of utmost importance to reduce the population's exposure to carcinogenic compounds via all relevant exposure pathways.

Road traffic is one of the major sources of air pollutants, including aromatic hydrocarbons. The current study assessed the presence of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) in the City of Novi Sad's ambient air and the health risk for its inhabitants.

A total of 686 24h air samples were collected at two sites in the City of Novi Sad during 2024 and analyzed using a GC-MS method.

As expected on traffic sites, BTEX compounds were quantified in the majority of the samples: toluene 94.3% > benzene 88.3% > xylenes 75.6% > ethylbenzene 59.0%. The mean concentrations (µg/m³) of benzene and toluene were higher at urban traffic sites (1.7 vs. 1.3; 3.9 vs. 2.3), while ethylbenzene and xylenes reached higher means at suburban traffic sites (1.0 vs. 1.7; 2.6 vs. 4.2). Benzene's annual concentration was in compliance with the calendar year limit established by Directive 2008/50/EC. The hazard index (HI), calculated as a sum of hazard quotients related to reference inhalation concentrations of individual compounds, was used as a measure of non-carcinogenic risk. The HI values on suburban (0.087) and urban traffic sites (0.085) indicated no health risk. Benzene and xylenes were the main HI contributors (>98%). The carcinogenic risk was based on benzene and ethylbenzene inhalation risk units. In the case of children, it was very similar on suburban and urban traffic sites (2.1E-06 and 2.3E-06), while in the case of adults, it was slightly higher on urban traffic sites (9.1E-06 vs. 8.2E-06). However, the health risk was low regardless of the population group. As expected, due to its higher inherent carcinogenic potential as well as its higher population exposure level, benzene showed a 2.5-fold higher impact on carcinogenic risk than ethyl benzene.

Although the estimated values ​​of the risk indicators are low, it is of utmost importance to reduce exposure to carcinogenic compounds in ambient air.

Cities worldwide are facing the dual challenges of urban heat islands (UHIs) and the increasing frequency of heatwaves. Concrete and asphalt, combined with reduced vegetation, cause urban areas to retain more heat than their rural counterparts. This not only leads to discomfort but also poses significant health risks, including heat-related illnesses and increased mortality rates. Urban green spaces, such as parks, play a crucial role in mitigating UHI effects through shading and evapotranspiration, which help cool urban environments.

This study focuses on Villa Ada, a 160-hectare park in central Rome, characterized by relatively unmanaged vegetation. We aim to assess its effectiveness in reducing local UHI effects during a heatwave from October 8 to 10, 2023. Using the Parallelized Large-Eddy Simulation Model (PALM), we simulate three urban greenery scenarios: (1) replacement of the park with asphalt, (2) replacement of the park with short grass, and (3) replacement of short grass areas with trees featuring high leaf area density, representing the most adaptive scenario.

The preliminary results suggest that Villa Ada exerts a cooling effect on its immediate surroundings, with increased tree coverage leading to more substantial temperature reductions. These findings underscore the critical role of urban green spaces in mitigating UHI effects and highlight the importance of strategic urban planning that preserves and enhances such areas. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of different vegetation management strategies and their implications for urban climate resilience.

A common approach to estimate the spatial–temporal distribution of atmospheric species properties is data assimilation. This comprises methods to combine information from different sources for obtaining the best estimate of a system state. Data assimilation is based on minimizing the error in the estimate (optimal interpolation and Kalman filtering methods) or on minimizing the cost function (variational methods). Under certain conditions, variational methods turn out to be equivalent to optimal interpolation or Kalman filtering. All data assimilation techniques require an understanding of data error statistics. Optimal interpolation is a relatively simple and computationally cheap non-sequential method. In the optimal interpolation method, error correlations can be modeled with analytical functions on the base of the gathered data. In the present work, we investigate the effect of the form of the error correlation functions on the uncertainty in the estimate when using the spatial–temporal optimal interpolation (STOI) technique. We apply STOI to the estimation of aerosol distribution over Europe. To perform STOI, we use results of the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem simulations, as well as observations from a ground-based radiometric network AERONET that provides data on aerosol properties with low uncertainty. We show that the results of the STOI estimation are very tentative to the form of the error correlation functions. We perform some tuning of the correlation function parameters to improve the accuracy of the estimation.

Climate change has various negative environmental consequences, such as rising temperatures and the intensification of extreme weather events. These repercussions represent one of the greatest challenges for sustainable development and the population's well-being. Heat/cold waves are among the meteorological events associated with climate change. A trend analysis should be used to assess the change in the behavior of a variable over long periods. Therefore, the objective of this work was to analyze the trends in extreme heat and cold events, expressed through the indicators of Intense Cold Conditions and Intense Heat Conditions, during the period 1981-2023. This study covered the entire country, and 67 meteorological stations belonging to the Institute of Meteorology's network of stations were used. The existence of a trend is determined mainly using the Mann–Kendall statistic (Sneyers, 1975), in the direct and inverse sense, and change points are determined using Pettitt's test. The Spearman's and Wald–Wolfowitz tests were used as alternative tests. The significance level was chosen as 0.05 since the 95th percentile provides a good result in meteorology. In general, the existence of highly significant increasing trends was confirmed in the series corresponding to CCIsv and CCIcv in Cuba. However, this did not occur for CFIsv and CFIcv, for which, although they showed a lower number of cases in recent years in the multiannual analyses, the existence of trends could not be confirmed.

This study investigates the future temperature changes in the climate-vulnerable region of the eastern Mediterranean. The results from seventeen (17) CMIP6 (6^th Phase of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) model simulations are analyzed in order to study the temperature changes. The analysis is focused on the moderate and extreme emissions in the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, respectively). The fifth generation ECMWF reanalysis (ERA5) is used as reference dataset in order to investigate the performance of CMIP6 simulations to accurately reproduce the mean temperature in the eastern Mediterranean region. The results show that CMIP6 model simulations vary regarding their efficiency to capture the mean temperature. In particular, Kling-Gupta efficiency Index (KGE) values fluctuate from -0.13 to 0.46. Future projections show that significant warming is shown during the last period of the 21^st century (related to the historical basis period that covers the years from 1970 to 2000). The continental Balkan and Turkish regions are recognized as the most affected areas regarding future warming. The increase in temperature ranges from 1.5°C to 4.5°C for SSP2-4.5 and from 3.0°C to 8.0°C for SSP5-8.5 scenarios, respectively. Finally, the seasonal analysis indicates that summer (JJA) shows the maximum temperature increase compared to the other seasons.

Industrial wastewater treatment is regarded as one of the significant greenhouse gas (GHG) resources by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a major GHG which could be released from agro-industrial wastewater treatment plants. From this point of view, this study investigated the minimization of the nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions originating from brewery wastewater treatment using malt-sprout-derived biochar. The main objective of the study was the minimization of N₂O emissions from brewery wastewater treatment using the biochar adsorption process. The hypothesis of this study was that biochar could effectively uptake the N₂O from wastewater due to the higher adsorption capacity from the soil. This study was unique in that malt-sprout-derived biochar was used as the N₂O adsorbent for brewery wastewater treatment. The biochar was derived using slow pyrolysis at three different temperatures: 300 (MS1), 400 (MS2), and 550 °C (MS3). The malt sprout and industrial wastewater were ensured from a full-scale brewery industry wastewater treatment plant in Turkey. The correspondence between the N₂O emission and wastewater treatment quality was investigated by Monte Carlo simulation. The gas resulting from wastewater treatment was collected and determined using gas chromatography equipped with an electron capture detector (GC-ECD). N₂O was sampled and measured seasonally, before and after the biochar adsorption process. Furthermore, gas adsorption was performed using the same biochar to verify the N₂O capture capacity of the biochar and minimize the GHG emissions. An average of 25.6% of minimization in N₂O emissions from brewery wastewater was reported using malt-sprout-derived biochar. The simulation results showed that the total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and ammonium (NH₄-N) had the highest correspondence with N₂O emissions. The highest N₂O uptake capacity was correlated with the biochar derived at the lowest temperature (MS1).

Air pollution poses a substantial barrier to global environmental sustainability and citizen well-being. However, there is a lack of research that specifically examines the effects of short-term exposure to PM_2.5 and its components on health outcomes in developing nations in Asia. The present study evaluated the associations between PM_2.5 components and hospital admissions (HAs) and emergency room visits (ERVs) for respiratory diseases in a megacity of Karachi, Pakistan. We assessed the lag structure of the excess risk (ER) of the pollutant—outcome association (0-6 single and cumulative lag days) using time-series quasi-Poisson models, after adjusting for temperature, humidity, and day of the week. This first study in Pakistan found that PM_2.5 and its constituents were associated with respiratory HAs and ERVs for the inhabitants of the megacity of Karachi. These associations varied by different PM constituents, disease subtypes, age, and gender. The leading causes for HAs were COPD (21.5%), asthma (17.3%), and TB (12.3%). Asthma (24.4%), TB (18.0%), and COPD (17.3%) were the principal causes of ERVs. Males accounted for 62.0% of the HAs and 58.1% of the ERVs. The prevalence of respiratory diseases increased with age, peaking with the age group 18-64. The highest ERs for all respiratory morbidity were observed for PM_2.5 (10.3, 95% CI: 2.59%-18.59), NH₄⁺ (9.58%, 95% CI: 1.50%-18.30%), air quality index (9.11%, 95%CI: 2.54%-16.09%), and SO₄^2- (7.26%, 95% CI: 1.03%-13.87%) within 0-4 lag days. Additionally, patients with COPD, TB, or other pulmonary diseases, and older or male patients, were more vulnerable to these pollutants. Our results provide important information for policy makers for developing regulations for improving air quality and public health. Further studies are urgently needed in other developing countries to disentangle the effects of air pollution on health.