Climate Disaster and Cognitive Ability: Evidence From Wildfire.

Objectives: We investigate the impact of wildfire disasters on cognitive health (i.e., thinking and language skills) in individuals aged 10 years and older using 2014 and 2018 wildfire and cognitive ability survey data from China. Methods: We distinguished wildfires in each county at different wind directions each day by exogenous wind direction changes, and analyzed the effects of wildfires on cognitive abilities through upwind and non-upwind wildfires. Results: Our analysis shows that for every 10-unit increase in upwind wildfires compared to non-upwind wildfires, respondents' scores on word and math tests decrease by 0.235 and 0.236 standard deviations, respectively. Furthermore, we find that the impact of wildfire on cognitive ability is more pronounced in younger individuals, and those with lower defensive expenditures experience more severe impacts. Additionally, wildfires negatively affect individuals' cognitive abilities by generating air pollution. Conclusion: Wildfires significantly reduce individuals' cognitive abilities. Two recommendations are as follows: 1) governments should follow the principle of green development, introduce relevant regulations, and increase investment in adaptive technologies. 2) Individuals should raise awareness of climate hazards preparedness and strengthen defensive protection.

Urban amenity and urban economic resilience: evidence from China.

Under the influence of multiple uncertain factors at home and abroad, urban amenities, as the underlying support for urban renewal activities, are of great significance in enhancing urban economic resilience. The panel data of Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019 is used in this study. Urban amenity is measured from artificial amenities and climate amenities, respectively. By using a two-way fixed effects model, we empirically test the impact of urban amenities on urban economic resilience. The key findings of this study are as follows. (1) Urban amenities can significantly enhance urban economic resilience. (2) Heterogeneity analysis shows that there are regional differences in the role of urban amenities in promoting urban economic resilience, with cities in the eastern region, strong environmental regulations, and high urbanization rates benefiting more. (3) We further find that urban amenities mainly enhance economic resilience by promoting population agglomeration, attracting labor migration, improving the quality of human capital, and stimulating urban innovation. Our conclusions recommend to rationally allocate and optimize urban amenity resources, strengthen urban planning and construction management, and create a more livable urban environment, thereby enhancing urban economic resilience.

Thermally populated "bright" states for wide-range and high temperature sensing in air.

A series of air-stable triarylphosphine oxide-based thermosensitive ratiometric sensors based on local excited (LE) and charge transfer (CT) emissions have been designed and synthesized. The fluorescence intensity of tri(pyren-1-yl)phosphine oxide exhibits a prominent temperature-dependent feature over a wide temperature range due to thermally populated emissive LE states. The wide ratiometric temperature sensing range and high stability/reversibility in an ambient atmosphere indicate their great potentials in facile and practical applications.