A comparison and appraisal of a comprehensive range of human thermal climate indices

Abstract

Numerous human thermal climate indices have been proposed. It is a manifestation of the perceived importance of the thermal environment within the scientific community and a desire to quantify it. Schemes used differ in approach according to the number of variables taken into account, the rationale employed, and the particular design for application. They also vary considerably in type and quality, method used to express output, as well as in several other aspects. In light of this, a three-stage project was undertaken to deliver a comprehensive documentation, classification, and overall evaluation of the full range of existing human thermal climate indices. The first stage of the project produced a comprehensive register of as many thermal indices as could be found, 165 in all. The second stage devised a sorting scheme of these human thermal climate indices that grouped them according to eight primary classification categories. This, the third stage of the project, evaluates the indices. Six evaluation criteria, namely validity, usability, transparency, sophistication, completeness, and scope, are used collectively as evaluation criteria to rate each index scheme. The evaluation criteria are used to assign a score that varies between 1 and 5, 5 being the highest. The indices with the highest in each of the eight primary classification categories are discussed. The work is the final stage of a study of the all human thermal climatic indices that could be found in literature. Others have considered the topic, but this study is the first detailed, genuinely comprehensive, and systematic comparison. The results make it simpler to locate and compare indices. It is now easier for users to reflect on the merits of all available thermal indices and decide which is most suitable for a particular application or investigation.

Outdoor Wellbeing and Quality of Life: A Scientific Literature Review on Thermal Comfort

“…Several complex thermal indexes were developed to date, describing and quantifying the thermal environment of humans and the energy fluxes between the human body and the surrounding environment. De Freitas and Grigorieva [79,80] carried out a three-stage study, providing a comprehensive register of 165 indexes suitable for the purpose, which were subsequently grouped and classified. Thus, they observed that indexes are almost designed for a specific application, so the choice depends on the context in which the index is used, as well as on the availability of the data needed to quantify it.…”

Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Human‐Perceived Temperature Extremes and Underlying Uncertainties

“…Strong wind, on the other hand, can offset the heat stress by increasing the rate of perspiration and therefore increasing the loss of latent heat from the human body to its surrounding environment. Plus, the scientific community has proposed over 160 human thermal climate indices to provide a precise quantification of the thermal environment over past 100 years (de Freitas & Grigorieva, ; de Freitas & Grigorieva, ). Owing to the large number of thermal indices, considerable uncertainty resides in measuring the exact thermal environment because of parameter simplification and different combinations of variables.…”

Is It Possible to Distinguish Global and Regional Climate Change from Urban Land Cover Induced Signals? A Mid-Latitude City Example

“…These summarize the effects of the individual meteorological parameters on thermal comfort or stress into one quantity by using weighted equations or heat balance models [87]. In total, more than 165 thermal indices have been developed [88] with different characteristics and application areas [89,90].…”