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Long and Short-Term Acclimatization Effects on Outdoor Thermal Perception Versus UTCI

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Applications of the Universal Thermal Climate Index UTCI in Biometeorology

Part of the book series: Biometeorology ((BIOMET,volume 4))

Abstract

The chapter looks at human acclimatization in the short and in the long term with respect to intercations between reported thermal perception, monitored meteorological variables and calculated UTCI data. Two different perspectives are employed to investigate both issues: responses from 16 participants in a longitudinal study using a controlled thermal environment (climate chamber) and responses from a cross-sectional study with local population. In both cases, outdoor data were monitored and compared to participants’ thermal responses. In the longitudinal study, a 5-h exposure in a controlled thermal environment preceded a 30-min period outdoors, during which standard standard thermal comfort questionnaires were administered at three time stamps along with the monitoring of meteorological data for assessing potential short-term acclimatization effects. In the cross-sectional study, reported thermal history was used as an indicator of short-term acclimatization. For the evaluation of long-term acclimatization, two approaches have been used: in the longitudinal study, changes in thermal votes were compared over three seasons of the year; in the cross-sectional study, we compared thermal responses from two populations living under different climatic conditions but subject to summer conditions (Guangzhou/Zhuhai and Melbourne). The UTCI was used as a relevant thermal index for assessing acclimatization effects. The method of analysis also differed between studies: in the longitudinal study, a dynamic approach was used with trend analysis over time; in the cross-sectional study, comparisons were made using right-here-right-now responses performing cluster analysis, followed by t-test and chi-square test of independence.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Brazilian research funding agency CAPES, the European Union 7th Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) grant agreement no. PIRG08-GA-2010-277061 and the Fachgebiet Bauphysik & Technischer Ausbau/Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (fbta/KIT), in special Marcel Schweiker and Andreas Wagner. For the cross-sectional study in Guangzhou and Zhuhai, we acknowledge the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41905005, No. 41875015, No. 51811530017), and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (No. 2018A030310307, 2018B030311068). For the Melbourne survey, we acknowledge the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities and the Royal Botanic Garden Victoria (RBGV) for their support. We also thank Cintia Tamura for the data collection in Karlsruhe and Yanping Gao for her assistance in analysing the survey data in Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Melbourne.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China

    Cho Kwong Charlie Lam

  2. Department of Civil Construction, Federal University of Technology of Parana, Curitiba, Brazil

    Eduardo L. Krüger

  3. Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá, Brazil

    Ivan Julio Apolonio Callejas

  4. Institute for Building Design and Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany

    Andreas Wagner

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  1. Cho Kwong Charlie Lam
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Correspondence to Cho Kwong Charlie Lam .

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  1. Department of Civil Construction, Federal University of Technology, Curitiba - PR, Brazil

    Eduardo L. Krüger

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Lam, C.K.C., Krüger, E.L., Callejas, I.J.A., Wagner, A. (2021). Long and Short-Term Acclimatization Effects on Outdoor Thermal Perception Versus UTCI. In: Krüger, E.L. (eds) Applications of the Universal Thermal Climate Index UTCI in Biometeorology. Biometeorology, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76716-7_5

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