Katarzyna Lindner-Cendrowska

Abstract

The assessment of biometeorological conditions for tourism and recreational purposes is usually based around fundamentalmeteorological data, climate-tourism indices or biometeorological indices. Specific methods for investigating thesensible climate in the context of urban tourism had not been devised hitherto, but the present paper offers results of anassessment of the bioclimate of the Polish capital city, Warsaw, from the point of view of tourism and recreation, usingthe UTCI and PET indices. Values for these indices are then compared with thermal sensation votes cast by tourists in thecourse of leisure activities in Warsaw’s Old Town area. This validation revealed that, while weather perception does notonly depend on meteorological factors, usage of UTCI is an appropriate approach to the study of the bioclimate of urbanareas for tourism and recreation purposes.

Keywords: UTCI, PET, weather perception, tourism and recreation, Warsaw

Katarzyna Lindner-Cendrowska [klindner@twarda.pan.pl]