Milica Pecelj

Milica Pecelj

Research Associate

Milica Pecelj is a Research Associate at the Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić” of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA), within the Department of Physical Geography, where she conducts research in the field of climatology. Her research examines the interactions between urban climate and human health, with a strong focus on thermal comfort, human heat exposure, and air quality in urban environments. As a human biometeorologist, she integrates human bioclimatology, urban climatology, and atmospheric science to better understand human–environment interactions and micro-scale climate processes. Her work combines micrometeorological measurements, modelling, and spatial analysis to assess how environmental conditions affect human health and well-being, supporting applications in urban planning, environmental health, and climate-sensitive design. Particular attention is given to human-centred approaches and the assessment of heat-related risks in urban environments. Her research is multi- and interdisciplinary, involving collaboration with experts from atmospheric sciences, architecture, urban and regional planning, as well as environmental and health-related fields, including medical geography and tourism climatology. Certain aspects of her research in bioclimatology also relate to dendroclimatology. Her most significant scientific contributions are in the field of human biometeorology and the assessment of thermal comfort in urban environments, as well as in the study of urban heat stress, micro-scale climate variability, and their impacts on human health and well-being. Research Fields: Human Biometeorology and Bioclimatology Urban climatology and Thermal Comfort Human heat exposure, Air quality and Environmental Health and Wellbeing She was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Arizona State University (2022/2023), where she conducted research in human biometeorology and urban climatology. Her work focused on micro-scale climate processes, human–environment interactions, and the assessment of thermal comfort and heat exposure in urban environments. https://fulbrightscholars.org/grantee/milica-pecelj

Publications

1. Pecelj, M., Matzarakis A., Vujadinović M., Radovanović M., Vagić N., Đurić D., and Cvetkovic M. (2021). Temporal
Analysis of Urban-Suburban PET, mPET and UTCI Indices in Belgrade (Serbia). Atmosphere 12(7), 916.
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12070916

2. Pecelj M., Lukić M., Filipović D., Protić B., Bogdanović U. 2020. Analysis of the Universal Thermal Climate Index
during heat waves in Serbia, Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 20, 2021–2036, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-20- 2021-2020

3. Savic S., Milovanovic B., Milosevic D., Dunjic J., Pecelj M., Lukic M., Ostojic M., Fekete R. (2024) Thermal assessments
at local and micro scales during hot summer days: a case study of Belgrade (Serbia). Idojaras, 128, 121-141.
DOI:10.28974/idojaras.2024.1.7

4. Djurđević, D., Vasić, M., Ogrin, M., Savić, S., Milošević, D., Dunjić, J., Šećerov, I., Žgela, M., Boras, M., Herceg Bulić, I.,
Pecelj, M., Šušnjar, S., Lukić, M., Ivanišević, M., Trbić, G., Ćulafić, G., & Mitrović, L. (2023). Long-Term Assessment of
Bioclimatic Conditions at Micro and Local Scales in the Cities of the Western Part of the Balkan Peninsula during the 21st
Century. Sustainability, 15(21), 15286. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115286

5. Pecelj, M.; Malinović-Milićević, S.; Matzarakis, A. (2025). Thermal Comfort and Tourism in Mostar (Bosnia and
Herzegovina): A Human Bioclimatic Information Sheet for Visitors and Planners. Atmosphere , 16, 987.
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16080987