Abstract
In this study, the human thermal stress was quantified across Central Africa (C.A.) using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). Although many of the documented studies on the use of UTCI in relation to human health are currently restricted to countries in the northern hemisphere, this contribution constitutes a prerequisite of information for future research in the region. To mitigate the problem of lack of field data in the Central African sub-region, we downloaded UTCI data via the ERA5 reanalysis portal. Based on this data source, we have explored the spatiotemporal characteristics and the resulting behaviour at annual, seasonal and monthly scales in Central Africa over the period 1982 to 2022. On these different scales, 4 of the 10 UTCI thermal stress categories were experienced, ranging from mild cold stress to strong heat stress. Spatially, cases of moderate heat stress were the most widespread, with cases of strong intensity occurring in a few isolated areas in the centre, east and west. Slight cold stress is confined to the south-east domain, particularly in autumn and winter. From 1982 to 2022, heat stress has increased significantly in the region, with peaks observed in January and October; very few areas have been spared the phenomenon of thermal stress. However, a slight decreasing trend was noticed along coastal regions and the south of C.A. Thereafter, the trend values showed the degree of C.A. vulnerability to global warming, and thus appropriate measures should be taken in relation to outdoor occupations and its impacts on the population of this region.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data for the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) are implemented by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and are available from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S, 2020).
References
Barnett AG, Hajat S, Gasparrini A, Rocklöv J (2012) Cold and heat waves in the United States. Environ Res 112:218–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2011.12.010
Basu R, Samet JM (2002) Relation between elevated ambient temperature and mortality: a review of the epidemiologic evidence. Epidemiol Rev 24:190–202. https://doi.org/10.1093/epirev/mxf007
Bauche JP, Grigorieva EA, Matzarakis A (2013) Human-biometeorological assessment of urban structures in extreme climate conditions: the example of Birobidzhan, Russian Far East. Adv Meteorol 2013:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/749270
Błażejczyk K (2021) UTCI-10 years of applications. Int J Biometeorol 65:1461–1462. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-021-02174-1
Błażejczyk K, Jendritzky G, Bröde P, Fiala D, Havenith G, Epstein Y, Psikuta A, Kampmann B (2013) An introduction to the universal thermal climate index (UTCI). Geogr Pol 86(1):5–10. https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.2013.1
Coccolo S, Kampf J, Scartezzini JL, Pearlmutter D (2016) 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
Di Napoli C, Allen T, Méndez-Lazaro PA, Pappenberger F (2022) Heat stress in the Caribbean: climatology, drivers, and trends of human biometeorology indices. Int J Climatol 2022:1–21. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.7774
Ebi KL, Capon A, Berry P, Broderick C, de Dear R, Havenith G, Honda Y, Kovats RS, Ma W, Malik A, Morris NB, Nybo L, Seneviratne SI, Vanos J, Jay O (2021) Hot weather and heat extremes: health risks. Lancet 398:698–708. https://doi.org/10.1016/S01406736(21)01208-3
Fitchett JM (2021) Perspectives on biometeorological research on the African continent. Int J Biometeorol 65:133–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-02020-w
Fotso-Nguemo TC, Weber T, Diedhiou A, Chouto S, Vondou DA, Rechid D, Jacob D (2023) Projected impact of increased global warming on heat stress and exposed population over Africa. Earth's. Future 11:e2022EF003268. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EF003268
Garland R (2017) Human health. In: Mambo J, Faccer K (eds) Understanding the social and environmental implications of global change. Stellenbosch, Africa Sun Media, pp 58–65
Harrington LJ, Otto FEL (2020) Reconciling theory with the reality of African heatwaves. Nat Clim Chang 10:794–798. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0851-8
Huynen MM, Martens P, Schram D, Weijenberg MP, Kunst AE (2001) The impact of heat waves and cold spells on mortality rates in the Dutch population. Environ Health Perspect 109(463–470):2001. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.01109463
Kaissassou S, Djiotang L, Komkoua A, Ekobo B, Ndzana B, Tanessong R, Guenang M and Vondou A (2021) Climatology of super-refraction and trapping layers conditions over Central and West Africa. Meteorol Appl 2021(28):e2016. https://doi.org/10.1002/met.2016
Kaissassou S, Lenouo A, Nzeukou A, Tchawoua C, Vondou DA (2015a) Seasonal variations of surface duct conditions in Ngaoundere, North Cameroon. Meteorog Atmos Phys 127:659–674. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703015-0387-z
Kaissassou S, Lenouo A, Tchawoua C, Lopez P, Amadou T (2015b) Climatology of anomalous propagation radar over West Africa. J Atmos Sol Terr Phys 123:1–12
Kendall MG (1975) Rank correlation methods, 4th edition. Charles Griffin, London
Kenny G, Jay O (2013) Thermometry, calorimetry, and mean body temperature during heat stress. Compr Physiol 3:1689–1719. https://doi.org/10.1002/cphy.c130011
Komkoua Mbienda AJ, Guenang GM, Kaissassou S, Tchakoutio Sandjon A, Tanessong RS, Matho Lontio SL, Vondou DA, Yepdo Djomou Z (2021) Boundary layer schemes in the regional climate model RegCM4.6 over Central Africa. Clim Dyn https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-05928-0
Kovats RS, Hajat S (2008) Heat stress and public health: a critical review. Annu Rev Public Health 29:41–55. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.29.020907.090843
Kuchcik M (2021) Mortality and thermal environment (UTCI) in Poland-long-term, multi-city study. Int J Biometeorol 65:1529–1541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484020-01995-w
Lakhraj-Govender R, Grab SW (2019) Assessing the impact of El Niño–Southern Oscillation on South African temperatures during austral summer. Int J Climatol 39(1):143–156. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5791
Langlois N, Herbst J, Mason K et al (2013) Using the excess heat factor (EHF) to predict the risk of heat related deaths. J Forensic Legal Med 20:408–411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2012.12.005
Li PW, Chan ST (2000) Application of a weather stress index for alerting the public to stressful weather in Hong Kong. Meteorol Appl 7:369–375
Liu J, Varghese BM, Hansen A et al (2022) Heat exposure and cardiovascular health outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Planet Health 6:e484–e495. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00117-6
Mann HB (1945) Non parametric tests against trend. Econometrica 13:245–259. https://doi.org/10.2307/1907187
Masson-Delmotte V, Zhai P, Pirani A, Connors SL, Péan C, Berger S, Caud N, Chen Y, Goldfarb L, Gomis MI, Huang M, Leitzell K, Lonnoy E, Matthews JBR, Maycock TK, Waterfield T, Yelekçi O, Yu R, Zhou B (2021) Climate change 2021: the physical science basis. In: Contribution of working group I to the sixth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Masterson J, Richardson FA (1979) Humidex, A method of quantifying human discomfort due to excessive heat and humidity. Environment Canada, Downsview, Ontario
Mpandeli S, Naidoo D, Mabhaudhi T, Nhemachena C, Nhamo L, Liphadzi S, Hlahla S, Modi AT (2018) Climate change adaptation through the water-energy-food nexus in southern Africa. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15(10):2306. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102306
Ngoungue Langue CG, Lavaysse C, Vrac M, Flamant C (2023) Heat wave monitoring over West African cities: uncertainties, characterization and recent trends. Nat Hazards Earth Syst Sci 23:1313–1333. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1313-2023
Nouri S, Charalampopoulos I, Afacan Y, Matzarakis A (2023) Detection and quantification of seasonal human heat and cold stress frequencies in representative existing and future urban canyons: the case of Ankara. Theor Appl Climatol https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-023-04482-5
Ogbonna AC, Harris DJ (2008) Thermal comfort in sub-Saharan Africa: field study report in Jos-Nigeria. Appl Energy 85(2008):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2007.06.005
Roffe JS, van der Walt AJ, Fitchett JM (2023) Spatiotemporal characteristics of human thermal comfort across southern Africa: an analysis of the Universal Thermal Climate Index for 1971–2021. Int J Climatol 2023:1–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.8009
Rothfusz LP (1990) The heat index equation (or, more than you ever wanted to know about heat index). National Weather Service Technical Attachment, SR/SSD, pp. 90–23
Scripca A, Acquaotta F, Croitoru A et al (2022) The impact of extreme temperatures on human mortality in the most populated cities of Romania. Int J Biometeorol 66:189–199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-021-02206-w
Shin JY, Kang M, Kim KR (2022) Outdoor thermal stress changes in South Korea: increasing inter-annual variability induced by different trends of heat and cold stresses. Sci Total Environ 805:150132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150132
Shukla KK, Attada R, Kumar A, Kunchala RK, Sivareddy S (2022) Comprehensive analysis of thermal stress over northwest India: climatology, trends and extremes. Urban Clim 44:101188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2022.101188
Silva TJV, Hirashima SQS (2021) Predicting urban thermal comfort from calibrated UTCI assessment scale a case study in Belo Horizonte city, southeastern Brazil. Urban Clim 36:100652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2020.100652
Smith ET, Sheridan SC (2018) The characteristics of extreme cold events and cold air outbreaks in the eastern United States. Int J Climatol 38(S1):e807–e820. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5408
Steadman RG (1984) A universal scale of apparent temperature. J Appl Meteorol Climatol 23:1674–1687
Török I, Croitoru AE, Man TC (2021) Assessing the impact of extreme temperature conditions on social vulnerability. Sustainability 13:8510. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158510
Urban A, Di Napoli C, Cloke HL, Kyselý J, Pappenberger F, Sera F, Schneider R, Vicedo-Cabrera AM, Acquaotta F, Ragettli MS, Íñiguez C, Tobiass A, Indermitte E, Orru H, Jaakkola JJK, Ryti NRI, Pascal M, Huber V, Schneider A et al (2021) Evaluation of the ERA5 reanalysis-based Universal Thermal Climate Index on mortality data in Europe. Environ Res 198:111227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111227
van der Walt AJ, Fitchett JM (2020) Statistical classification of South African seasonal divisions on the basis of daily temperature data. S Afr J Sci 116(9–10):7614. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2020/7614
Vicedo-Cabrera SA, Sera F et al (2021) The burden of heat-related mortality attributable to recent human-induced climate change. Nat Clim Chang 11:492–500. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01058-x
Vinogradova V (2021) Using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) for the assessment of bioclimatic conditions in Russia. Int J Biometeorol 65:1473–1483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-01901-4
White MD (2006) Components and mechanisms of thermal hyperpnea. J Appl Physiol 101:655–663. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00210
Wright CY, Wernecke B, Kapwata T, Kunene Z, Mathee A, Vande Hey J, Theron L (2022) Perceptions of thermal comfort and coping mechanisms related to indoor and outdoor temperatures among participants living in rural villages in Limpopo province, South Africa. S Afr J Psychol 52(4):449–459. https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463221129363
Wu J, Gao X, Chen D (2017) Changes of effective temperature and cold/hot days in late decades over China based on a high resolution gridded observation dataset. Int J Climatol https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5038.10.1002/joc.5038
Acknowledgements
Our sincere appreciation goes to the Centre of Experimentation and Production and the meteorology department of the National Advanced School of Engineering of Yaoundé for providing us with materials.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
S.K.: conceptualisation; methodology; software; data curation; validation; investigation; formal analysis; visualisation; writing—original draft; resources; writing—review and editing. A.J.K. and G.M.G.: conceptualisation; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing. I.N., P.S.N. and H.R.: conceptualisation; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Kaissassou, S., Komkoua, A., Guenang, M. et al. A 43-year of human thermal comfort in Central Africa. Int J Biometeorol 67, 2069–2080 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-023-02563-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-023-02563-8