XENIA · eXploring futurE humaN thermal bIoclimate pAthways

Xenia refers to the ancient Greek concept of hospitality. It is a traditionally established host-guest relationship rooted in reciprocity. Earth (the host) has served this institutionalized notion for millions of years providing inhabitable conditions to humans (the guests), and thus, allowing them to thrive. However, the human activities of recent centuries have violated the Xenia rules leading to the disruption of the Earth’s climate. As a consequence, the planet is becoming less hospitable. The global warming and the consequent intensification of weather and climate extremes induce severe impacts to humans, including losses of millions of lives. The most important threat is related to the thermal environment. Extreme heat in particular, is responsible for more premature deaths than any other natural disaster, especially in cities due to the urban overheating. Exposure to incompatible with human life heat conditions is expected to increase in the future as climate change escalates. Yet, there is a critical lack of robustness concerning the projections of future heat-health outcomes. This is primarily driven by the fact that both thermo-physiological and behavioral adaptation of humans to local climates is ignored. In order to address this significant gap in future climate impact assessments, the current project will eXplore futurE humaN thermal bIoclimate pAthways (XENIA), considering the physiological and behavioral responses of different groups of people with particular focus on the most vulnerable.