Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communities
Climate change presents significant threats to human health, especially for low-income urban communities in the Global South. Despite numerous studies of heat stress, surprisingly little is known about the temperatures actually encountered by people in their homes, or the benefits of affordable adap...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abdbf2 |
| _version_ | 1797747769028378624 |
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| author | R L Wilby R Kasei K V Gough E F Amankwaa M Abarike N J Anderson S N A Codjoe P Griffiths C Kaba K Abdullah S Kayaga T Matthews P Mensah C Murphy P W K Yankson |
| author_facet | R L Wilby R Kasei K V Gough E F Amankwaa M Abarike N J Anderson S N A Codjoe P Griffiths C Kaba K Abdullah S Kayaga T Matthews P Mensah C Murphy P W K Yankson |
| author_sort | R L Wilby |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate change presents significant threats to human health, especially for low-income urban communities in the Global South. Despite numerous studies of heat stress, surprisingly little is known about the temperatures actually encountered by people in their homes, or the benefits of affordable adaptations. This paper examines indoor air temperature measurements gathered from 47 living rooms within eight low-income communities of Accra and Tamale, Ghana. Using multiple temperature indices and a tiered analysis, we evaluate indoor temperature variations linked to roof type, ceiling insulation, presence of fans, and tree shade, for different housing types and locations. Our data reveal indoor temperatures in the range 22.4 °C to 45.9 °C for Accra, and 22.2 °C to 43.0 °C in Tamale. Using dummy regression analysis, we find that tree shade reduces the number of very hot days (>40 °C) and nights (>30 °C) by about 12 and 15 d per year, respectively. Building materials also strongly moderate indoor temperatures but in opposing ways: rooms with traditional mud walls and thatch roofs are on average 4.5 °C cooler than rooms in concrete block houses with uninsulated metal roofs during the day but are 1.5 °C warmer at night; rooms with ceiling insulation are on average 6.9 °C cooler in the day but 1.4 °C warmer at night. We conclude that sub-daily data are necessary for reporting extreme indoor temperatures, and that trade-offs between minimum and maximum temperatures require interventions to be assessed carefully before attempting to counter extreme heat inside homes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0ab5988e16ba4566a2d13e91d35b8a0a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-0ab5988e16ba4566a2d13e91d35b8a0a2023-08-09T14:54:44ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262021-01-0116202403310.1088/1748-9326/abdbf2Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communitiesR L Wilby0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4662-9344R Kasei1K V Gough2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9638-9879E F Amankwaa3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8735-2521M Abarike4N J Anderson5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0037-0306S N A Codjoe6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6567-0262P Griffiths7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0591-9724C Kaba8K Abdullah9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9101-3437S Kayaga10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8749-723XT Matthews11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6295-1870P Mensah12C Murphy13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4891-2650P W K Yankson14Geography and Environment, Loughborough University , Loughborough LE11 3TU, United KingdomDepartment of Climate Change and Food Security, University for Development Studies , Tamale, GhanaGeography and Environment, Loughborough University , Loughborough LE11 3TU, United KingdomDepartment of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana , Legon LG 59, GhanaDepartment of Climate Change and Food Security, University for Development Studies , Tamale, GhanaGeography and Environment, Loughborough University , Loughborough LE11 3TU, United KingdomRegional Institute for Population Studies, University of Ghana , Legon LG 96, GhanaSchool of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University , Loughborough LE11 3TU, United KingdomDepartment of Climate Change and Food Security, University for Development Studies , Tamale, GhanaDepartment of Climate Change and Food Security, University for Development Studies , Tamale, GhanaSchool of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University , Loughborough LE11 3TU, United KingdomGeography and Environment, Loughborough University , Loughborough LE11 3TU, United KingdomDepartment of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana , Legon LG 59, GhanaIrish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Department of Geography, Maynooth University , Maynooth, IrelandDepartment of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana , Legon LG 59, GhanaClimate change presents significant threats to human health, especially for low-income urban communities in the Global South. Despite numerous studies of heat stress, surprisingly little is known about the temperatures actually encountered by people in their homes, or the benefits of affordable adaptations. This paper examines indoor air temperature measurements gathered from 47 living rooms within eight low-income communities of Accra and Tamale, Ghana. Using multiple temperature indices and a tiered analysis, we evaluate indoor temperature variations linked to roof type, ceiling insulation, presence of fans, and tree shade, for different housing types and locations. Our data reveal indoor temperatures in the range 22.4 °C to 45.9 °C for Accra, and 22.2 °C to 43.0 °C in Tamale. Using dummy regression analysis, we find that tree shade reduces the number of very hot days (>40 °C) and nights (>30 °C) by about 12 and 15 d per year, respectively. Building materials also strongly moderate indoor temperatures but in opposing ways: rooms with traditional mud walls and thatch roofs are on average 4.5 °C cooler than rooms in concrete block houses with uninsulated metal roofs during the day but are 1.5 °C warmer at night; rooms with ceiling insulation are on average 6.9 °C cooler in the day but 1.4 °C warmer at night. We conclude that sub-daily data are necessary for reporting extreme indoor temperatures, and that trade-offs between minimum and maximum temperatures require interventions to be assessed carefully before attempting to counter extreme heat inside homes.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abdbf2climate changeextreme heatinformal settlementsindoor temperatureGhana |
| spellingShingle | R L Wilby R Kasei K V Gough E F Amankwaa M Abarike N J Anderson S N A Codjoe P Griffiths C Kaba K Abdullah S Kayaga T Matthews P Mensah C Murphy P W K Yankson Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communities Environmental Research Letters climate change extreme heat informal settlements indoor temperature Ghana |
| title | Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communities |
| title_full | Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communities |
| title_fullStr | Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communities |
| title_short | Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communities |
| title_sort | monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low income urban communities |
| topic | climate change extreme heat informal settlements indoor temperature Ghana |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abdbf2 |
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