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Effects of thermal environment and air quality on outdoor thermal comfort in urban parks of Tianjin, China

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Abstract

The comfort level of outdoor thermal environments is affected by several factors. Previous studies of thermal comfort have generally investigated the main microclimatic factors as dependent variables, such as the temperature, wind speed, humidity, and thermal radiation, but the influence of the air quality has rarely been explored. In this study, we acquired meteorological element observations and conducted questionnaire surveys in Peach Blossom Park, Hebei University of Technology, and Xigu Park in Tianjin. We analyzed the effects of the outdoor air quality and thermal environment on the thermal comfort in order to provide a theoretical basis for comprehensive evaluations of the outdoor environment and the mechanism. The results showed that thermal resistance of clothing and ambient temperature followed a negative step change, where people generally reduced the minimum amount of clothing when the temperature exceeded 28 °C. One unit change in the thermal sensation vote (TSV) occurred for every 11 °C rise in the physiological equivalent temperature (PET). The neutral PET was 21.68 °C, and the comfortable PET was about 23 °C. The air quality index (AQI) and air satisfaction were negatively correlated, and satisfaction decreased by 1 unit for every change of 230 AQI. The transitional season was most comfortable when the temperature felt slightly cool (TSV = −0.70). The neutral TSV was 0.507 in the summer and −0.334 in the winter. Air quality had a significant effect on the thermal comfort vote (TCV) (p = 0.0485 < 0.05). The effect of PET on TCV was highly significant (p < 0.01).

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Funding

The study was supported by Research on Spatial-temporal Characteristics and Inheritance Path for In-site phenotype of the Settlement Space along the Grand Canal Tianjin Section (grant number 22YJC760135) and “Belt and Road” Innovative Talent Exchange Program for foreign experts (grant number DL2022170002L).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Architecture, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Guangmeng Bian

  2. School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Xiangyu Gao, Qishu Zou & Meng Zhen

  3. School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150006, China

    Qi Cheng & Shiyan Sha

  4. School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Tianyi Sun

Authors
  1. Guangmeng Bian
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  2. Xiangyu Gao
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  3. Qishu Zou
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  4. Qi Cheng
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  5. Tianyi Sun
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  6. Shiyan Sha
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  7. Meng Zhen
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Contributions

Xiangyu Gao wrote the paper. Meng Zhen modified the paper and performed the field tests. Guangmeng Bian designed the questionnaire. Qi Cheng and Zilin Chen reviewed and edited the paper. Shiyan Sha, Qi Cheng, and Tianyi Sun conducted the questionnaire survey. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meng Zhen.

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Ethical approval and consent to participate

This research was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University. Before conducting the questionnaire survey, the research team had informed participants that the questionnaire was anonymous and aiming at academic research.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Bian, ., Gao, X., Zou, Q. et al. Effects of thermal environment and air quality on outdoor thermal comfort in urban parks of Tianjin, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 97363–97376 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29130-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29130-3

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