scholarly journals Beyond Singular Climatic Variables—Identifying the Dynamics of Wholesome Thermo-Physiological Factors for Existing/Future Human Thermal Comfort during Hot Dry Mediterranean Summers

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Santos Nouri ◽  
Ioannis Charalampopoulos ◽  
Andreas Matzarakis
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Climatic Variables ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Physiological Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort ◽  
Physiological Indices ◽  
Typical Summer

Centered on hot dry Mediterranean summer climates, this study assesses the climatic data that was extracted from Lisbon’s meteorological station between the years of 2012 and 2016. Focused on the summer period, existing outdoor human thermal comfort levels that are already prone to extreme heat stress thresholds were evaluated. Such an assessment was rooted around identifying the relationship and discrepancies between singular climatic variables (e.g., air Temperature (Ta)); and adapted thermos-physiological indices (e.g., the modified physiologically equivalent temperature (mPET)), which also consider the influence of radiation fluxes over the human body. In addition, default urban canyon case studies (UCCs) were utilized to supplement how both differ and influence one another, especially under extreme weather conditions including heat waves events (HWE), and very hot days (VHD). Through the use of wholesome thermo-physiological indices, the study revealed that while human health and thermal comfort is already prone to extreme physiological stress (PS) grades during one of the hottest months of the year, the current extremes could be drastically surpassed by the end of the century. Within the examined UCCs, it was identified that the projected PET could reach values of 58.3 °C under a projected climate change RCP8.5/SRES A1FI scenario. Similarly, and in terms of thermo-physiological stress loads, the following could happen: (i) a future “cooler summer day” could present similar conditions to those currently found during a ‘typical summer day; (ii) a future ‘typical summer day’ could present hourly physiological equivalent temperature load (PETL) that recurrently surpassed those currently found during a “very hot day”; and, (iii) a future “very hot day” could reveal severe hourly PETL values that reached 35.1 units beyond the established “no thermal stress” class.

scholarly journals Heat Waves and Human Well-Being in Madrid (Spain)

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domingo Rasilla ◽  
Fernando Allende ◽  
Alberto Martilli ◽  
Felipe Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Canopy Layer ◽  
Physiological Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort ◽  
The City

Heat waves pose additional risks to urban spaces because of the additional heat provided by urban heat islands (UHIs) as well as poorer air quality. Our study focuses on the analysis of UHIs, human thermal comfort, and air quality for the city of Madrid, Spain during heat waves. Heat wave periods are defined using the long-term records from the urban station Madrid-Retiro. Two types of UHI were studied: the canopy layer UHI (CLUHI) was evaluated using air temperature time-series from five meteorological stations; the surface UHI (SUHI) was derived from land surface temperature (LST) images from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) products. To assess human thermal comfort, the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) index was applied. Air quality was analyzed from the records of two air quality networks. More frequent and longer heat waves have been observed since 1980; the nocturnal CLUHI and both the diurnal and nocturnal SUHI experience an intensification, which have led to an increasing number of tropical nights. Conversely, thermal stress is extreme by day in the city due to the lack of cooling by winds. Finally, air quality during heat waves deteriorates because of the higher than normal amount of particles arriving from Northern Africa.

scholarly journals Urban Heat Islands and Thermal Comfort: A Case Study of Zorrotzaurre Island in Bilbao

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6106
Author(s):  
Irantzu Alvarez ◽  
Laura Quesada-Ganuza ◽  
Estibaliz Briz ◽  
Leire Garmendia
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
Physiological Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
The North ◽  
The Impact

This study assesses the impact of a heat wave on the thermal comfort of an unconstructed area: the North Zone of the Island of Zorrotzaurre (Bilbao, Spain). In this study, the impact of urban planning as proposed in the master plan on thermal comfort is modeled using the ENVI-met program. Likewise, the question of whether the urbanistic proposals are designed to create more resilient urban environments is analyzed in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, especially heat waves. The study is centered on the analysis of temperature variables (air temperature and average radiant temperature) as well as wind speed and relative humidity. This was completed with the parameters of thermal comfort, the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and the Universal Temperature Climate Index (UTCI) for the hours of the maximum and minimum daily temperatures. The results demonstrated the viability of analyzing thermal comfort through simulations with the ENVI-met program in order to analyze the behavior of urban spaces in various climate scenarios.

scholarly journals Experimental study on dynamic thermal environment of passenger compartment based on thermal evaluation indexes

2020 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 003685042094299
Author(s):  
Liang Zhang ◽  
Liangkui Qi ◽  
Jianhua Liu ◽  
Qingqing Wu
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Prediction Accuracy ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Temperature Model ◽  
Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Vote Model ◽  
Evaluation Indexes ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort ◽  
Experimental Values

In this article, the thermal environment and the human thermal comfort of car cabin under different driving states in summer were studied experimentally. The weighted predictive mean vote model and the weighted equivalent temperature model were used for calculation and compared with the experimental values. The experimental results show that the air temperature and relative humidity distribution in cabin are affected by the space position and driving state. The temperature of the cabin seat, which is affected by solar radiation and crew, in the heating stage is slightly higher than the air temperature, while the cooling rate in the cooling stage is much lower than the air temperature. The predictive mean vote model and the equivalent temperature model are basically consistent with the actual thermal comfort of human body under the idle and driving conditions with the change of time. The prediction accuracy of the two models under the idle condition is higher than that under the driving condition, and the overall prediction accuracy of the equivalent temperature model is higher than that of the predictive mean vote model.

scholarly journals Assessment of Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) in Transitional Spaces of a High-Rise Building

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 348
Author(s):  
Nooriati Taib ◽  
Zalila Ali
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Physiological Equivalent Temperature ◽  
High Rise ◽  
Transitional Spaces ◽  
International Publishing

One passive approach that can significantly reduce energy usage in high-rise buildings is through the creation of non-air conditioned spaces such as transitional spaces. Optimizing passive design would reduce wastage associated with the building’s energy consumption. The study measures the thermal comfort of three types of transitional spaces (sky court, balcony, and rooftop) in a high-rise office building. Based on the assessment of Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), the outcome showed significant differences in PET in all locations in both wet and dry season. The effectiveness of such area can be improved with the contributions of landscape, maximizing natural ventilation and day lighting where possible.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Thermal comfort; transitional spaces; high-rise; Physiological Equivalent Temperature

scholarly journals In-situ Measurement of Pedestrian Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Universities Campus of Malaysia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurnida Elmira Othman ◽  
Sheikh Ahmad Zaki ◽  
Nurul Huda Ahmad ◽  
Azli Razak
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Field Measurement ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
View Factor ◽  
Thermal Preference ◽  
Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Physiological Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Sky View Factor

The present study is intended to evaluate an outdoor thermal comfort at two universities campus in Malaysia. Field measurement and questionnaire survey were conducted simultaneously to assess the microclimatic condition and pedestrian thermal sensation. A total of 3033 samples were collected at seven different sky view factor (SVF) values that range from 0.2 to 0.9. The physiological equivalent temperature (PET) was estimated to evaluate outdoor thermal comfort. It was observed that at a highly shaded area (SVF < 0.35) the respondent’s thermal sensation vote (TSV) are neutral (> 25%), acceptable for thermal acceptance vote (TAV) (> 50%) and no change (> 50%) for thermal preference vote (TPV). For moderate shaded (0.35 ≤ SVF ≤ 0.70) TSV was voted as hot (> 25%), acceptable for TAV (40%), and prefer slightly cooler for TPV (>50%). For less shaded area (0.70 < SVF ≤ 1), TSV was voted as hot and very hot (> 25%), acceptable for TAV (>40%) and prefer slightly cooler for TPV (> 40%). Moreover, the PET value increases simultaneously with the increase of SVF. Results thus suggest that at any given activities such as sitting, walking, and standing also caused effects slightly on the way people thermally perceive it during the on-campus daytime.

High Resolution Spatio-Temporal Variability of Heat Wave Impacts Quantified by Thermal Comfort Indices

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
C NEETHU ◽  
KV Ramesh
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Apparent Temperature ◽  
Average Intensity ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Comfort Indices

Abstract Heat waves are increasing in frequency and also exhibit high spatial variability in its distribution over India. There are limited studies focused on the weather related human thermal comfort over India due to non-availability of high resolution (HR) climate data. Here we develop dynamically downscaled HR (4x4 km) daily climate information for the months of April to June during 2001-2016 using a regional climate model called Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, which are validated with station observations. The thermal comfort and its spatio-temporal variability over India are quantified in terms of indices like Excessive Heat Factor (EHF), Heat Index (HI), Humidex, Apparent Temperature (AT) and Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT). The daily surface air temperature and thermal comfort indices of HR WRF model simulations are in good agreement with station observations. The results show that there is an increasing trend in annual heat waves coverage (22240km2/year), annual frequency (0.07 days/year) and average intensity (0.04 °C/year) during 2001-2016. The distributions of indices have spatial and temporal variability. The days with severe discomfort are significantly increasing (99% significance level) over north India and it is quantified with increase of extreme category of indices at the rate of EHF (15.9%), HI (14.9%), Humidex (15.9%), AT (13.4%) and WBGT (13.8%). During heat waves, prolonged exposure or physical activity under sun will led to adverse health impacts and it is mostly observed over northwest and south eastern states. These findings stress the need for developing suitable mitigation strategies for a sustainable ecosystem

Assessment of bioclimatic comfort conditions based on Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) using the RayMan Model in Iran

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Daneshvar ◽  
Ali Bagherzadeh ◽  
Taghi Tavousi
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Physiologically Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Equivalent Temperature ◽  
The Caspian Sea ◽  
Bioclimatic Comfort ◽  
The Persian Gulf ◽  
Rayman Model

AbstractIn this study thermal comfort conditions are analyzed to determine possible thermal perceptions during different months in Iran through the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET). The monthly PET values produced using the RayMan Model ranged from −7.6°C to 46.8°C. Over the winter months the thermal comfort condition (18–23°C) were concentrated in southern coastal areas along the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. Most of the country experienced comfort conditions during the spring months, in particular in April, while during the summer months of July and August no thermal comfort conditions were observed. In November coastal areas of the Caspian Sea had the same physiological stress level of thermal comfort as April. The map produced showing mean annual PET conditions demonstrated the greatest spatial distribution of comfortable levels in the elevation range from 1000 to 2000 meter a.s.l., with annual temperatures of 12–20°C and annual precipitation of under 200 mm. The statistical relationship between PET conditions and each controlling parameter revealed a significant correlation in areas above 2000 meter, annual temperature over 20°C and annual precipitation of 200–400 mm with a correlation coefficient (R 2) of 0.91, 0.97 and 0.96, respectively.

scholarly journals Effects of urban street trees on human thermal comfort and physiological indices: a case study in Changchun city, China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhibin Ren ◽  
Hongbo Zhao ◽  
Yao Fu ◽  
Lu Xiao ◽  
Yulin Dong
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Physiological Parameters ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Street Trees ◽  
Urban Street ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort ◽  
Physiological Indices ◽  
Urban Thermal Environment

AbstractPlanting trees along urban streets is one of the most important strategies to improve the urban thermal environment. However, the net impacts of urban street trees on human thermal comfort and physiological parameters are still less clear. On three similar east–west orientated streets with different degrees of tree cover—low (13%), medium (35%), and high (75%), urban microclimatic parameters and human physiological indices for six male students were simultaneously measured on three cloudless days in summer 2018. The results show that the differences in tree cover were predominant in influencing urban thermal environment and comfort. The street with the highest tree cover had significantly lower physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and more comfortable than the other two streets. The frequency of strong heat stress (PET > 35 °C) was 64%, 11%, and 0%, respectively, for streets with low, medium, and high tree cover. For the six male university students, human physiological indices varied greatly across the three streets with different tree cover. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and pulse rate increased with decreasing tree cover. The results also suggest that urban thermal environment and comfort had considerable impact on human physiological parameters. Our study provides reasons for urban planners to plant trees along streets to improve the thermal environment and promote urban sustainability.

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