Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of Arctic Summer Climate Comfort Level in the Context of Regional Tourism Resources from 1979 to 2019

Global warming is significantly expanding Arctic summer climate comfort zones, creating favorable conditions for tourism development. From 1979 to 2019, the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) rose at a rate of 0.457 °C per decade, with an abrupt shift in 2001 from 'colder' to 'cool' conditions that have persisted since. Comfortable areas increased by 6.353 × 10^5 km² over the past decade, expanding into high-latitude and high-altitude regions such as the Putorana Plateau, Kola Peninsula, Verkhoyansk Mountains in Russia, and Alaska's Brooks Range. The study used ERA5-HEAT dataset data and statistical methods like climatic tendency rate and RAPS to analyze these trends, revealing that Arctic tourism could benefit from rising temperatures.

Huang, Y., Zhang, X., Zhang, D., Zhang, L., Zhang, W., Ren, C., Pan, T., Chu, Z., & Chen, Y. (2021). Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of Arctic Summer Climate Comfort Level in the Context of Regional Tourism Resources from 1979 to 2019. Sustainability, 13(23), 13056. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313056