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Field study of pedestrians’ comfort temperatures under outdoor and semi-outdoor conditions in Malaysian university campuses

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Abstract

Difficulties in controlling the effects of outdoor thermal environment on the human body are attracting considerable research attention. This study investigated the outdoor thermal comfort of urban pedestrians by assessing their perceptions of the tropical, micrometeorological, and physical conditions via a questionnaire survey. Evaluation of the outdoor thermal comfort involved pedestrians performing various physical activities (sitting, walking, and standing) in outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces where the data collection of air temperature, globe temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, metabolic activity, and clothing insulation data was done simultaneously. A total of 1011 participants were interviewed, and the micrometeorological data were recorded under outdoor and semi-outdoor conditions at two Malaysian university campuses. The neutral temperatures obtained which were 28.1 °C and 30.8 °C were within the biothermal acceptable ranges of 24–34 °C and 26–33 °C of the PET thermal sensation ranges for the outdoor and semi-outdoor conditions, respectively. Additionally, the participants’ thermal sensation and preference votes were highly correlated with the PET and strongly related to air and mean radiant temperatures. The findings demonstrated the influence of individuals’ thermal adaptation on the outdoor thermal comfort levels. This knowledge could be useful in the planning and designing of outdoor environments in hot and humid regions to create better thermal environments.

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Acknowledgements

We extend our gratitude to the Universiti Teknologi Mara Sponsorship for the opportunity to conduct this research. We would also like to thank to all the participants for their cooperation and support during the survey.

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE) through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme [FRGS/1/2019/TK07/UTM/02/5] project, and a research grant (UF4700) from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

    Nurnida Elmira Othman & Azli Abd Razak

  2. Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, 54100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Sheikh Ahmad Zaki

  3. Faculty of Environmental Studies, Tokyo City University, Yokohama, Japan

    Hom Bahadur Rijal

  4. UTM Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, 54100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Nurul Huda Ahmad

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  1. Nurnida Elmira Othman
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  2. Sheikh Ahmad Zaki
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  4. Nurul Huda Ahmad
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Correspondence to Sheikh Ahmad Zaki.

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Appendices

Appendix 1. Questionnaire

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Appendix 2. Physical activities at outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces

figure b

Appendix 3

Table 6 Thermal sensation, acceptance, and preference scales used in the questionnaire
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Appendix 4

Table 7 Physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) classes and number of votes (Figs. 8 and 9)
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Othman, N.E., Zaki, S.A., Rijal, H.B. et al. Field study of pedestrians’ comfort temperatures under outdoor and semi-outdoor conditions in Malaysian university campuses. Int J Biometeorol 65, 453–477 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-020-02035-3

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