The notion of “bioclimatology” or “medical climatology” subsumes the investigation of the influence of climate on living organism such as plants, animals and the human body. In the first half of the 20^th century, when climatology generally expanded within meteorological services and at universities, bioclimatology was a growing field of research (Heymann 2009). The goal was to investigate and understand the effect of different climates on the origin and distribution of diseases as well as their healing qualities (Borchardt 1930). Examples were problems such as the dispersal of pollens and its relation to the proliferation of species and ailments like hay fever. Not only meteorological services but also and spas and sanatoriums maintained bioclimatological research stations. In the early 20^th century, the German chemist Carl Dorno (1865-1942) founded bioclimatology as a research discipline, because his daughter suffered from tuberculosis (Dorno 1920; Mörikofer 1959).

Bioclimatology prospered particularly in Germany during the 1930s when under Nazi rule new research institutions in agricultural and bioclimatology were established (Flohn and Mügge 1962). In this context, German climatologist Hermann Flohn started his professional career in a bioclimatological unit of the German Reichswetterdienst (Imperial Weather Service). Also Helmut Landsberg in his career had an interest in bioclimatology. As assistant of the German geophysicist Franz Linke (1878-1944) at the University of Frankfurt he served as an editor of the journal Bioklimatische Beiblätter, a supplement to the leading scientific journal Meteorologische Zeitschrift (Keil 1985). Also later, after Landsberg had fled to the United States in 1934, he continued to publish in this bioclimatological supplement (Flohn 1992).

As subdisciplines of classical climatology, bioclimatology and medical climatology (along with further subdicsiplines such as urban climatology and agrometeorology) exemplify the climatological focus on the relation of climate and human culture and life. Interest in these disciplines peaked in the interwar period, whereas they lost attention significantly in the postwar era. Today, bioclimatological research includes the investigation of problems such as heat transfer in human and animal bodies, metabolic processes and the impact of climate on insect populations that transmit malaria, dengue fever and other diseases (Baer 2005; Kalkstein 2005).

Sources:

Baer, Ferdinand 2005: “Bioclimatology”, in: Encyclopedia of World Climatology. John E. Oliver (ed.). Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 158-165.

Borchardt, Werner 1930:  Einfluss des Klimas auf den Menschen I: Medizinische Klimatologie. Handbuch der Klimatologie in fünf Bänden. Wladimir Köppen, Rudolf Geiger (eds.). Berlin.

Dorno, Carl 1920: Klimatologie im Dienste der Medizin. Tagesfragen aus den Gebieten der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik, vol. 50. Wiesbaden: Springer.

Flohn, Hermann, J. Blüthgen 1949: „Klimatologie“, In: Geographie. Naturforschung und Medizin in Deutschland 1939-1946 (FIAT Review of German Science), vol. 44, Geographie, part I. Dietrich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Wiesbaden, pp. 42-69.

Flohn, Hermann 1992: „Meteorologie im Übergang. Erfahrungen und Erinnerungen (1931–1991)“, Bonner Meteorologische Abhandlungen 40.

Flohn, Hermann, Ratje Mügge 1962: Denkschrift zur Lage der Meteorologie. Ausschuss für angewandte Forschung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft, Denkschrift part 6. Wiesbaden.

Heymann, Matthias 2009: „Klimakonstruktionen. Von der klassischen Klimatologie zur Klimaforschung“, NTM Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Wissenschaften, Technik und Medizin, vol. 17: 2, pp. 171-197.

Kalkstein, Laurence S. 2005: „Human Helath and Climate”, in: Encyclopedia of World Climatology. John E. Oliver (ed.). Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 407-411.

Keil, Karl 1985: "Linke, Franz", in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 14, pp. 629 f. [online version]; URL: https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/gnd117034835.html#ndbcontent

Mörikofer, Walter 1959: "Dorno, Carl", in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 4, pp. 80 f. [online version]; URL: https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/gnd101565798.html#ndbcontent