An assessment of priorities in handling climate change impacts on infrastructures.

Climate change (CC) will likely significantly impact the world's infrastructure significantly. Rising temperatures, increased precipitation, and rising sea levels are all likely to stress critical infrastructures (CI). Rising temperatures can lead to infrastructure damage from extreme heat events. This can cause roads and bridges to buckle or crack, leading to costly repairs and potential traffic disruptions. In addition, heat waves can damage vital electrical infrastructure, leading to widespread power outages. In light of this context, this article reports on a study which examined the connections and impacts of CC on infrastructure. The study employed a mixed-method approach, combining bibliometric analysis for the period 1997-2022 with a series of relevant case studies from the five continents to offer insight into the impact of CC on infrastructure. The article fills a research gap in respect of assessments of the extent to which climate change (CC) negative influences the infrastructure, with a special focus on developing countries. It also showcases CI projects and adaptation measures being currently deployed, to address CC. The results show that the current infrastructure is vulnerable to CC. The selected case studies on CI adaptation show that in developing and industrialised countries, there is a perceived need to understand better the connections and potential impacts of CC on critical areas such as transport, settlements, and coastal infrastructure. In order to protect infrastructure from CC impacts, governments need to invest in measures such as flood control, early warning systems, and improved building codes. Additionally, they need to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more actively, which are the primary cause of CC.

A ticket to where? Dwindling snow cover impacts the winter tourism sector as a consequence of climate change.

Climate change affects human activities, including tourism across various sectors and time frames. The winter tourism industry, dependent on low temperatures, faces significant impacts. This paper reviews the implications of climate change on winter tourism, emphasising challenges for activities like skiing and snowboarding, which rely on consistent snowfall and low temperatures. As the climate changes, these once taken-for-granted conditions are no longer as commonplace. Through a comprehensive review supported by up-to-date satellite imagery, this paper presents evidence suggesting that the reliability of winter snow is decreasing, with findings revealing a progressive reduction in snow levels associated with temperature and precipitation changes in some regions. The analysis underscores the need for concerted efforts by stakeholders who must recognize the reality of diminishing snow availability and work towards understanding the specific changes in snow patterns. This should involve multi-risk and multi-instrument assessments, including ongoing satellite data monitoring to track snow cover changes. The practical implications for sports activities and the tourism industry reliant on snow involve addressing challenges by diversifying offerings. This includes developing alternative winter tourism activities less dependent on snow, such as winter hiking, nature walks, or cultural experiences.

Climate change: Why higher education matters?

Higher education (HE) matters to the global struggle to combat climate change. Research builds knowledge and informs climate solutions. Educational programmes and courses upskill current and future leaders and professionals to tackle the systems change and the transformation needed to improve society. Through their outreach and civic engagement work, HE helps people understand and address the climate change impacts, notably on under-resourced or marginalised people. By raising awareness of the problem and supporting capacity and capability building, HE encourages changes in attitudes and behaviours, focusing on adaptive change in preparing people to face the challenges of a changing climate. However, HE has yet to fully articulate its contribution towards climate change challenges, which means that organisational structures, curricula and research programmes do not reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the climate crisis. This paper describes the role of HE in supporting education and research efforts on climate change and outlines areas where further action is urgently needed. The study adds to the empirical research on HE's role in combating climate change and the role of cooperation in maximising the global effort to cope with a changing climate.

Analysis of the implementation of urban computing in smart cities: A framework for the transformation of Saudi cities.

Smart city development is gaining widespread acceptance as a means of mitigating urban development problems. However, the implementation of smart cities faces challenges, especially in developing countries. Urban computing is regarded as an enabler of innovation and smart city development. This study explores the adoption of urban computing to address the smart city and urban development problems of Saudi cities. Using a systematic review, this study highlights the trends and influential contributions of urban computing to smart city research. It identifies the urban computing framework and uses the framework to analyze the use of urban computing in Saudi cities to promote smart city development and sustainability. While Saudi Arabia has taken notable steps in urban computing, especially in providing services, further steps need to be taken to achieve the transformation into smart sustainable cities.

Barriers to institutional social sustainability.

Social sustainability is a work field characterised by an emphasis on social aspects, e.g. equity, ethics, health, gender balance, or empowerment, within a broader sustainability context. Although the concept seems to be reasonably well established and deemed worthy of pursuing, some obstacles prevent its wide dissemination. Through a bibliometric analysis focusing on the literature on social sustainability at institutions, with a focus on companies, this paper aims to investigate and describe some of the barriers associated with social sustainability implementation. Apart from identifying that sustainability reporting, environmental disclosure and financial performance play a central role in successfully achieving social sustainability, in the context of which gender-related issues seem more tangential, the results indicated some solutions commonly reported for overcoming barriers and obstacles to a company's social sustainability implementation within different sectors. These solutions have to do, among many other factors addressed in this study, with strengthening communication transparency and trust, contributing to awareness, using technology to document and promote social sustainability. Thus, empowering organizations and citizens, recognized as essential factors to social development, and addressing the challenges in a multi-dimensional way.

Spatial and temporal variations of satellite-derived multi-year particulate data of Saudi Arabia: an exploratory analysis.

The effects of concentrations of fine particulate matter on urban populations have been gaining attention because fine particulate matter exposes the urban populace to health risks such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Satellite-derived data, using aerosol optical depth (AOD), have been adopted to improve the monitoring of fine particulate matter. One of such data sources is the global multi-year PM2.5 data (2001-2010) released by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). This paper explores the satellite-derived PM2.5 data of Saudi Arabia to highlight the trend of PM2.5 concentrations. It also examines the changes in PM2.5 concentrations in some urbanized areas of Saudi Arabia. Concentrations in major cities like Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah and the industrial cities of Yanbu and Jubail are analyzed using cluster analysis. The health risks due to exposure of the populace are highlighted by using the World Health Organization (WHO) standard and targets. The results show a trend of increasing concentrations of PM2.5 in urban areas. Significant clusters of high values are found in the eastern and south-western part of the country. There is a need to explore this topic using images with higher spatial resolution and validate the data with ground observations to improve the analysis.