Long-term variability of human health-related solar ultraviolet-B radiation doses for the 1980s to the end of the 21st century.

Solar ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation has played a crucial role in the evolution of life on Earth, and potential changes in its levels could affect the health and functionality of humans and the ecosystems. UV exposure presents both risks and benefits to humans. However, optimal UV-B radiation exposure depends on several environmental and physiological factors and cannot be easily determined. The present document provides a review of the current state of knowledge relative to the effects of UV-B radiation on human health. A brief description of the physical mechanisms that control the levels of solar UV-B radiation at the Earth's surface is provided, with special emphasis on the role of ozone and the importance of the Montreal Protocol. A comprehensive review of studies reporting current trends in levels of surface solar UV-B radiation and projections of future levels reveals the dominant role of climatic changes in the long-term variability of UV-B radiation and its impact on the development of melanomas as well as eye disorders. The review provides strong evidence that despite the success of the Montreal Protocol and the expected ozone recovery, the future evolution of the levels of solar UV-B radiation at the Earth's surface is not certain.

Mortality Related to Air Temperature in European Cities, Based on Threshold Regression Models.

There is a wealth of scientific literature that scrutinizes the relationship between mortality and temperature. The aim of this paper is to identify the nexus between temperature and three different causes of mortality (i.e., cardiological, respiratory, and cardiorespiratory) for three countries (Scotland, Spain, and Greece) and eleven cities (i.e., Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Attica, and Thessaloniki), emphasizing the differences among these cities and comparing them to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship. To quantify the association between temperature and mortality, temperature thresholds are defined for each city using a robust statistical analysis, namely threshold regression analysis. In a more detailed perspective, the threshold used is called Minimum Mortality Temperature (MMT), the temperature above or below which mortality is at minimum risk. Afterward, these thresholds are compared based on the geographical coordinates of each city. Our findings show that concerning all-causes of mortality under examination, the cities with higher latitude have lower temperature thresholds compared to the cities with lower latitude. The inclusion of the relationship between mortality and temperature in the array of upcoming climate change implications is critical since future climatic scenarios show an overall increase in the ambient temperature.