HEAT WAVES.
CONCEPT, DEFINITION AND METHODS
USED TO DETECT
ADINA-ELIZA CROITORU
Abstract. -Heat waves. Concepts, definition and methods used to detect. Heat waves have been assessed, as the most dangerous weather events in the United States and in Australia, due to its major impact on human body. Consequently, detailed analyses is needed, both at global as well as at regional or local scales. Due to the high number of definitions and methods used to detect heat waves in the international scientific literature, in this study, we propose a review of the concept, the methods and data used to detect. We also made a brief comparison between two methods: 95th percentile-based method and 35ºC fixed threshold method. As main result, we found that the 95th percentile method is more appropriate as it allows detection of the heat waves all around the year and for each weather stations under study, while the fixed threshold method is very sensitive to location of the weather stations and season.
Key words: heat waves, threshold, detection methods, Romania