Development of a modified thermal humidity index and its application to human thermal comfort of urban vegetation patches
Extremely hot environments can trigger serious health problems. To evaluate the effects of microclimate on thermal comfort, we proposed and validated a modified thermal humidity index (MTHI) that combined air temperature and relative humidity with land surface temperature (LST). MTHI was more sensit...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Ecosystem Health and Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20964129.2022.2130095 |
| _version_ | 1797758384068362240 |
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| author | Xiaorou Zheng Na Zhang Xin Wang |
| author_facet | Xiaorou Zheng Na Zhang Xin Wang |
| author_sort | Xiaorou Zheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Extremely hot environments can trigger serious health problems. To evaluate the effects of microclimate on thermal comfort, we proposed and validated a modified thermal humidity index (MTHI) that combined air temperature and relative humidity with land surface temperature (LST). MTHI was more sensitive to microclimate changes than the general thermal humidity index that includes only T and RH, and thus the thermal comfort could be better indicated. In an urban riparian buffer study, we estimated the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of MTHI values for 47 vegetation patches and explored how structural characteristics of patches affect the thermal comfort. The results showed that planting could significantly reduce LST and MTHI. Vegetation patches with complex vertical structures had considerably higher thermal comfort than those with simple structures. Decreasing nearest distance to river or increasing plant abundance could reduce the thermal discomfort. There were significant differences in the structure characteristics between the patches with MTHI <70 and those with MTHI >70, implying the critical thresholds of variations in thermal comfort with patch structure. Given that people always feel uncomfortable during the daytime in July, optimizing the patch structure is essential to improve the microclimate regulation services of an urban landscape. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T18:29:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b51f99f9de794b91a1273b99bd72d7ac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2096-4129 2332-8878 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T18:29:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecosystem Health and Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-b51f99f9de794b91a1273b99bd72d7ac2023-08-02T08:23:54ZengAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Ecosystem Health and Sustainability2096-41292332-88782022-12-018110.1080/20964129.2022.2130095Development of a modified thermal humidity index and its application to human thermal comfort of urban vegetation patchesXiaorou Zheng0Na Zhang1Xin Wang2College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaExtremely hot environments can trigger serious health problems. To evaluate the effects of microclimate on thermal comfort, we proposed and validated a modified thermal humidity index (MTHI) that combined air temperature and relative humidity with land surface temperature (LST). MTHI was more sensitive to microclimate changes than the general thermal humidity index that includes only T and RH, and thus the thermal comfort could be better indicated. In an urban riparian buffer study, we estimated the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of MTHI values for 47 vegetation patches and explored how structural characteristics of patches affect the thermal comfort. The results showed that planting could significantly reduce LST and MTHI. Vegetation patches with complex vertical structures had considerably higher thermal comfort than those with simple structures. Decreasing nearest distance to river or increasing plant abundance could reduce the thermal discomfort. There were significant differences in the structure characteristics between the patches with MTHI <70 and those with MTHI >70, implying the critical thresholds of variations in thermal comfort with patch structure. Given that people always feel uncomfortable during the daytime in July, optimizing the patch structure is essential to improve the microclimate regulation services of an urban landscape.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20964129.2022.2130095Land surface temperaturenearest distance to riververtical vegetation structurevegetation coveragetree canopy densityadjacent patch index |
| spellingShingle | Xiaorou Zheng Na Zhang Xin Wang Development of a modified thermal humidity index and its application to human thermal comfort of urban vegetation patches Ecosystem Health and Sustainability Land surface temperature nearest distance to river vertical vegetation structure vegetation coverage tree canopy density adjacent patch index |
| title | Development of a modified thermal humidity index and its application to human thermal comfort of urban vegetation patches |
| title_full | Development of a modified thermal humidity index and its application to human thermal comfort of urban vegetation patches |
| title_fullStr | Development of a modified thermal humidity index and its application to human thermal comfort of urban vegetation patches |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of a modified thermal humidity index and its application to human thermal comfort of urban vegetation patches |
| title_short | Development of a modified thermal humidity index and its application to human thermal comfort of urban vegetation patches |
| title_sort | development of a modified thermal humidity index and its application to human thermal comfort of urban vegetation patches |
| topic | Land surface temperature nearest distance to river vertical vegetation structure vegetation coverage tree canopy density adjacent patch index |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20964129.2022.2130095 |
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