Global warming is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, contributing to climate change effects and with far-reaching implications for built environments. The main aim of this study is to assess the extent to which Annaba city, Algeria, as part of the Mediterranean region, is affected by global climate change and its broader influences. The study investigated climatic shifts in Annaba city, using a multi-step methodology integrating data collection and analysis techniques. Data collection included 23 years of climate data (2000–2023) from Annaba’s meteorological station, on-site measurements of microclimatic variations, and a questionnaire survey. The collected data underwent four main analyses: a time series analysis to describe climate parameters over 23 years, a statistical analysis to predict potential future climatic conditions (2024–2029) and the correlation of various climatic variables using specialized bioclimate tools to highlight seasonal variability, a spatial study of the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon and perceived climatic shifts, and an analysis of extreme weather events characterizing heat atmospheric events in the context of urban climate change in the Mediterranean region. The findings revealed a consistent warming trend in Annaba city, with prolonged extreme climate conditions observed, particularly in the last four years (2020–2023). Significant temperature fluctuations were emphasized, notably in July 2023, with record-breaking maximum temperatures reaching 48.2 °C, the hottest on record with an increase of 3.8 °C, and presenting challenges amplified by the urban heat island effect, causing temperature differentials of up to 6 °C within built-up areas. Projections for 2029 suggest a tendency towards heightened aridity with a significant shift towards a new climate seasonality featuring two distinct main seasons—moderate and hot challenging. The abrupt disruption of calm weather conditions in Annaba on 24 July 2023 highlighted the influence of atmospheric circulation within the Mediterranean region featured for both anticyclones and atmospheric blocking phenomena on local weather patterns.

Thermal insulation is a significant issue of building sustainability. Facades and roofs represent the exterior envelop of buildings. One of the weakest points in roof insulation is dome. Most of the domes in Saudi Arabia are thermally uninsulated due to the absence of practical insulation techniques. This paper concerns solving the problem of thermally uninsulated R.C. domes. A selected zone in Al-wali district in Makkah has around 68 thermally uninsulated R.C. domes made of 150 mm R.C. dome roof, 25 mm mortar layer with acrylic thermal emulsion paint from outside, and 3 mm gypsum plastering from inside. This construction has low thermal resistivity value (U-value = 10.3627 W/m²K) exceeding region code of 0.31 W/m²K. Three options were tested on three similar uninsulated domes. Firstly, creating 50 mm foam concrete layer covered by light acrylic ceramic microspheres-based for weather protection, an option that has been widely used by most owners. Secondly, creating 75 mm polyurethane foam layer covered by acrylic ceramic microspheres-based paint, an option that has difficulty in external cladding, maintenance, and aesthetic value. Thirdly, creating double-skin layer reinforced by 220 mm vertical steel bars, consisting of 75 mm polyurethane foam with an external cladding of 6 mm ceramic tiles, an option suggested by this paper based on most owners' preferences since it controls heat transfer and allows external cladding. Difference in temperature (ΔT) between inside and outside the three treated domes were reported using surface infrared laser thermometer. Option 1 was practical and economical, but ineffective (U-value =2.5445 W/m²K, ΔT= 5.8 ֯C). Options 2& 3 were almost similar, both were effective and satisfy area code (U-value =0.2949, 0.2920 W/m²K, ΔT= 14.3, 14.8 ֯C respectively).

Organizational change, influenced by such factors as economics, information and communications technologies (ICTs), and users’ wellbeing, is essential for organizational effectiveness, productivity, and sustainability. Thus, there has been a call for urgent changes in workplace design features to respond to future change. This study is concerned with defining the level of change in design features that is needed in existing Saudi governmental workplaces to cope with future visions of sustainability, as well as controlling the cost of such redesigning. It is hypothesized that future challenges related to economics, ICTs, and users’ wellbeing would have a significant impact on the need to change existing workplace design features. Administrator workplaces in three buildings of Saudi organizations and their representative economic, ICT, and wellbeing trends were considered (n = 104, 95, 96). The average level of change in design features in each building was observed and reported. The most changed design features in buildings affected by economic, ICT, and wellbeing trends were minimizing of luxury workplaces, minimizing storage space, and improving thermal/lighting conditions, respectively. However, the most changed design features that were common to all three buildings were spatial and furniture layouts and minimizing storage space.