The effect of heatwaves on the number of visits to national parks and reserves

Abstract

Background Climate change is leading to an increase in the frequency and intensity of heatwaves in many regions of the world. Climate change is also related to air pollution. Both heatwaves and air pollution have adverse health effects, and can also affect social behaviors, including tourism and touristic activities. The aim of this study was to examine the association between heatwaves, air pollution and visits to national parks and reserves in Israel. Methods Data on 68,518 visits in 51 national parks and reserves in Israel in the years 2016–2019 was crossed with temperature and air pollution data (represented by particulate matter PM10) and analyzed using statistical tests. Results Number of visits, as a function of temperature followed a unimodal distribution, in which more visits were reported on mild temperature days (in comparison to hot or cold days). In addition, the number of visits in sites with beaches was linearly correlated with temperature. Negative associations were found between number of visits and heatwaves, and between number of visits and exceedances in PM10 levels. Conclusions Heatwaves were shown to have a negative effect on the number of visits in national parks and reserves in Israel. The negative association between exceedances in air pollution and number of visits may be mediated by the positive correlation between air pollution exceedance events and heatwaves.