Abstract
The rise in urban air temperature has forced the researchers to look for nature-based solutions to resolve the problem sustainably. Urban waterbody plays a multidimensional role in the well-being of the city by catering to its economical, ecological, and socio-cultural needs. It can offer a potential solution for urban heat attenuation, but its effect on outdoor thermal comfort is contentious in humid subtropical climate. This study investigates the thermal impact of waterbody on its surroundings in humid subtropical climate by adopting a human centric approach. Waterbody impact on ambient air temperature, PET, and UTCI are evaluated and compared for a better understanding of its thermal impact on nearby surroundings. This study employs a CFD-based simulation model Envi-met for microclimate analysis. The results show that a dynamic waterbody lowers the ambient air temperature during daytime in summer of its nearby surroundings in humid subtropical climate. Maximum cooling is observed in open mid-rise LCZ where the cooling impact range is 140 m with the amplitude of 2.59 °C and compact low-rise LCZ exhibits minimum cooling of the identified LCZs with the cooling impact ending 24 m from waterbody edge with amplitude being 0.131 °C in the study area. Air temperature, UTCI, and PET do reflect the same trend when moving away from the waterbody in large low-rise LCZ, but it decreases drastically in open mid-rise LCZ and is non-existent in compact low-rise. This result provides an insight on the impact of waterbody on thermal comfort in its surroundings in humid subtropical climate, thus assisting urban planners and designers in making context-specific holistic decision.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aboelata A, Sodoudi S (2020) Evaluating the effect of trees on UHI mitigation and reduction of energy usage in different built up areas in Cairo. Build Environ 168:106490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106490
Ambrosini D, Galli G, Mancini B, Nardi I, Sfarra S (2014) Evaluating mitigation effects of urban heat islands in a historical small center with the ENVI-Met® climate model. Sustainability (Switzerland) 6(10):7013–7029. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6107013
Binarti F, Koerniawan MD, Triyadi S, Utami SS, Matzarakis A (2020) A review of outdoor thermal comfort indices and neutral ranges for hot-humid regions. In: Urban Climate, vol 31. Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2019.100531
Blazejczyk K, Epstein Y, Jendritzky G, Staiger H, Tinz B (2012) Comparison of UTCI to selected thermal indices. Int J Biometeorol 56(3):515–535. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0453-2
Bonell, M., Hufschmidt, M. M., & Gladwell, J. S. (Eds.). (1993). Hydrology and water management in the humid tropics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511564468
Bruse M, Fleer H (1998) Simulating surface-plant-air interactions inside urban environments with a three dimensional numerical model. Environ Model Softw 13(3–4):373–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-8152(98)00042-5
Census. (2011). Census of India 2011 Urban Agglomerations and Cities Definitions : 6–10
Chen, Y. C., & Matzarakis, A. (2014). Modification of physiologically equivalent temperature. In J Heat Island Inst Int (Vol. 9, Issue 2)
Chen Y, Wu J, Yu K, Wang D (2020) Evaluating the impact of the building density and height on the block surface temperature. Build Environ 168:106493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106493
Coccolo S, Kämpf J, Scartezzini J, Pearlmutter D (2016) Urban climate outdoor human comfort and thermal stress : a comprehensive review on models and standards. Urban Clim 18:33–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2016.08.004
Coutts AM, Tapper NJ, Beringer J, Loughnan M, Demuzere M (2012) Watering our cities: the capacity for water sensitive urban design to support urban cooling and improve human thermal comfort in the Australian context. Prog Phys Geogr 37(1):2–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133312461032
Crank PJ, Sailor DJ, Ban-Weiss G, Taleghani M (2018) Evaluating the ENVI-met microscale model for suitability in analysis of targeted urban heat mitigation strategies. Urban Clim 26:188–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.UCLIM.2018.09.002
De B, Mukherjee M (2018) Optimisation of canyon orientation and aspect ratio in warm-humid climate: case of Rajarhat Newtown, India. Urban Clim 24(2017):887–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2017.11.003
Emmanuel R, Fernando HJS (2007) Urban heat islands in humid and arid climates: role of urban form and thermal properties in Colombo, Sri Lanka and Phoenix, USA. Clim Res 34(3):241–251. https://doi.org/10.3354/cr00694
ENVI-met. (2020). https://www.envi-met.com/
Fang Z, Lin Z, Mak CM, Niu J, Tse KT (2018) Investigation into sensitivities of factors in outdoor thermal comfort indices. Build Environ 128:129–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.11.028
Gagge AP, Stolwijk JAJ, Nishi Y (1971) An effective temperature scale based on a simple model of human physiological regulatory response. ASHRAE Trans 77:247–262. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/10003090056/en/. Accessed 7 May 2020
Galal OM, Mahmoud H, Sailor D (2020) Impact of evolving building morphology on microclimate in a hot arid climate. Sustain Cities Soc 54:102011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.102011
Hathway EA, Sharples S (2012) The interaction of rivers and urban form in mitigating the urban heat island effect: a UK case study. Build Environ 58:14–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.06.013
Höppe P (1999) The physiological equivalent temperature – a universal index for the biometeorological assessment of the thermal environment. Int J Biometeorol 43(2):71–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004840050118
Jacobs C, Klok L, Bruse M, Cortesão J, Lenzholzer S, Kluck J (2020) Are urban water bodies really cooling? Urban Clim 32:100607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2020.100607
Jendritzky G, de Dear R, Havenith G (2012) UTCI—why another thermal index? Int J Biometeorol 56(3):421–428. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0513-7
Johansson E, Thorsson S, Emmanuel R, Krüger E (2014) Instruments and methods in outdoor thermal comfort studies - the need for standardization. Urban Clim 10(P2):346–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2013.12.002
Li J, Liu N (2020) The perception, optimization strategies and prospects of outdoor thermal comfort in China: a review. In: Building and Environment, vol 170. Elsevier Ltd, Amsterdam. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106614
Liang Z, Wu S, Wang Y, Wei F, Huang J, Shen J, Li S (2019) The relationship between urban form and heat island intensity along the urban development gradients. Sci Total Environ 135011:135011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135011
Lin TP, Matzarakis A (2008) Tourism climate and thermal comfort in Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan. Int J Biometeorol 52(4):281–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-007-0122-7
Lin TP, Matzarakis A, Hwang RL (2010) Shading effect on long-term outdoor thermal comfort. Build Environ 45(1):213–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2009.06.002
Lin W, Yu T, Chang X, Wu W, Zhang Y (2015) Calculating cooling extents of green parks using remote sensing: method and test. Landsc Urban Plan 134:66–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.10.012
Middel A, Häb K, Brazel AJ, Martin CA, Guhathakurta S (2014) Landscape and urban planning impact of urban form and design on mid-afternoon microclimate in Phoenix local climate zones. Landsc Urban Plan 122:16–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.11.004
Moyer AN, Hawkins TW (2017) River effects on the heat island of a small urban area. Urban Clim 21:262–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2017.07.004
Muniz-Gäal LP, Pezzuto CC, de Carvalho MFH, Mota LTM (2019) Urban geometry and the microclimate of street canyons in tropical climate. Build Environ 106547:106547. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BUILDENV.2019.106547
Nicol JF, Roaf S (2017) Rethinking thermal comfort. Build Res Inf 45(7):711–716. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2017.1301698
NOAA. (2018). Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/global/time-series/globe/land_ocean/ytd/12/1880-2018
Oke, T. R. (1987). Boundary layer climates. In Earth-Science Reviews (Vol. 27, Issue 3). https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-8252(90)90005-G
Park CY, Lee DK, Asawa T, Murakami A, Kim HG, Lee MK, Lee HS (2019) Influence of urban form on the cooling effect of a small urban river. Landsc Urban Plan 183:26–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LANDURBPLAN.2018.10.022
Pawar AS, Mukherjee M, Shankar R (2015) Thermal comfort design zone delineation for India using GIS. Build Environ 87:193–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.01.009
Santamouris M (2013) Using cool pavements as a mitigation strategy to fight urban heat island - a review of the actual developments. Renew Sust Energ Rev 26:224–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.05.047
Stewart ID, Oke TR (2012) Local climate zones for urban temperature studies. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 93(12):1879–1900. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00019.1
Sun R, Chen L (2012) How can urban water bodies be designed for climate adaptation? Landsc Urban Plan 105(1–2):27–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.11.018
Theeuwes NE, Solcerová A, Steeneveld GJ (2013) Modeling the influence of open water surfaces on the summertime temperature and thermal comfort in the city. J Geophys Res-Atmos 118(16):8881–8896. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50704
Thermal Commission, I (2003) Glossary of terms for thermal physiology. J Therm Biol 28(3):75–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4565(02)00055-4
Tsoka S, Tsikaloudaki A, Theodosiou T (2018) Analyzing the ENVI-met microclimate model’s performance and assessing cool materials and urban vegetation applications–a review. Sustain Cities Soc 43:55–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCS.2018.08.009
Wang Y, Li Y, Xue Y, Martilli A, Shen J, Chan PW (2020) City-scale morphological influence on diurnal urban air temperature. Build Environ 169:106527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106527
Willmott CJ (1981) ON THE VALIDATION OF MODELS. Phys Geogr 2(2):184–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723646.1981.10642213
Wu C, Li J, Wang C, Song C, Chen Y, Finka M, La Rosa D (2019) Understanding the relationship between urban blue infrastructure and land surface temperature. Sci Total Environ 694:133742. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.133742
Xue Z, Hou G, Zhang Z, Lyu X, Jiang M, Zou Y, Shen X, Wang J, Liu X (2019) Quantifying the cooling-effects of urban and peri-urban wetlands using remote sensing data: case study of cities of Northeast China. Landsc Urban Plan 182:92–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LANDURBPLAN.2018.10.015
Žuvela-Aloise M, Koch R, Buchholz S, Früh B (2016) Modelling the potential of green and blue infrastructure to reduce urban heat load in the city of Vienna. Clim Chang 135(3–4):425–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1596-2
Acknowledgements
The author would like to sincerely thank Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India for supporting this research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rahul, A., Mukherjee, M. & Sood, A. Impact of ganga canal on thermal comfort in the city of Roorkee, India. Int J Biometeorol 64, 1933–1945 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-01981-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-01981-2