Adaptive thermal comfort analysis based on interaction between outdoor thermal environment and air pollution: Case study in Xi'an, China

Abstract

Abstract At present, urban haze pollution is a major problem that affects the outdoor environmental quality, thereby hindering the construction of an ecological civilization and healthy urban development. The urban outdoor thermal environment also influences the urban physical environment. Both the thermal environment and air environment have important effects on the subjective comfort evaluations of people. In this study, four typical spaces on a university campus in Xi'an, China, were selected to investigate the thermal environment and air environment in outdoor spaces. The particulate matter in the air was divided into three different concentrations. The adaptive thermal comfort due to the interaction between the outdoor thermal environment and air pollution was studied based on questionnaires and field measurements, and a strategy was developed for optimizing the thermal comfort of outdoor public space environments. The results showed that the influence of the thermal air quality environment on subjective comfort clearly varied among different spaces. The influence of haze pollution on subjective comfort was greater in high and low temperature environments, but less obvious in a moderate temperature environment. When the PM2.5 particle concentration was greater than 100 µg/m3, the evaluation of respiratory comfort was low in the high temperature environment. The perception of air pollution was less sensitive in the thermal environment in covered road sections. Heat pollution and air pollution will affect human health to varying degrees. People with mental diseases are affected most by the outdoor thermal environment and patients with respiratory diseases are affected most by haze pollution.