ClimApp is an ongoing EU project funded by European Research Area for Climate Services (ERA4CS) and three participating countries: Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands. The overall aim of this project is to develop an advanced mobile phone App that integrates weather forecast data into human heat balance models. The personalized App takes into account individual factors and predicts body responses, provides health risk warning and advice for individuals, public and private sectors, to support decision-making to cope with heat and cold stress when facing extreme weather events such as heat waves and cold spells.

In this project, researchers and stakeholders from climate services and end-user organizations will collaborate with physiologists, protective clothing and hydration experts, sociologists and engineers. The overall aim is to develop an advanced App that integrates weather forecast information into a human heat balance model. The model will combine individual user characteristics and physiology to provide a user-friendly and interactive mobile tool to improve decision-making for adaptation strategies. The ClimApp is expected to provide timely and relevant guidelines for individuals and the public and private sectors, so that they can take actions to improve health, climate adaptation capability and productivity when facing climate challenges

Heat waves and cold spells have severe health consequences - increasing deaths and illnesses, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly. Heat and cold also affects health and productivity of millions of European workers. Climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of these extreme weather events.

Improvements in climate services – the quality and delivery method of weather and climate information - are therefore necessary in order to help minimise the negative impact of these events. However, the impact of heat and cold stress on health and productivity are dependent not only on climate factors, but also on human physiology, body heat production, and clothing. Clothing influences the heat exchange between the human body and the environment. For the purpose of warning and preparedness, weather forecasts will be more valuable if combined with individual characteristics and translated into personalized adaptation strategies.

1. To develop an advanced ClimApp that integrates climate forecast data into human thermal models and combined with individual user characteristics and human physiology
2. To provide a user-friendly and interactive mobile tool (including feedback module)
3. To improve decision-making for adaptation strategies when facing thermal climate challenges

Total:  1 141 000 €

• Lund University: 508 000 €
• University of Copenhagen: 247 000 €
• Technical University of Demark: 126 000 €
• Vrije University Amsterdam: 260 000 €

1. Danish Meteorological Institute, Denmark (opens a Danish website)
2. University of Thessaly, (Heat-Shield partner), Greece 
3. Center for Technology Research and Innovation, (Cetri) LTD, Cyprus 
4. SAPA Extrusion, Denmark
5. CeRIMP, Local Health Unit Tuscany Centre, Italy (opens an Italian website)
6. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Switzerland
7. University of Florence, (Heat-Shield partner), Italy 
8. VGGM, Regional Public Health Services Gelderland-Midden, The Netherlands (opens a Dutch website)
9. Age UK, United Kingdom
10. Taiga AB, Sweden (opens a Swedish website)