Improvement of the Outdoor Thermal Comfort by Water Spraying in a High-Density Urban Environment under the Influence of a Future (2050) Climate

Ka-Ming Wai, Lei Xiao and Tanya Zheng Tan
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Ka-Ming Wai: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
Lei Xiao: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China
Tanya Zheng Tan: Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-13

Abstract: Adaptation to prepare for adverse climate change impacts in the context of urban heat islands and outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) is receiving growing concern. However, knowledge of quantitative microclimatic conditions within the urban boundary layer in the future is still lacking, such that the introduction of adequate adaptation measures to increase OTC is challenging. To investigate the cooling performance of a water spraying system in a sub-tropical compact and high-rise built environment in summer under the influence of future (2050) climatic conditions, results from two validated models (Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) and ENVI-met models) have been used and analyzed. Our results indicate that the spraying system provides cooling of 2–3 °C for ambient air temperature at the pedestrian-level of the urban canyons considered here, which benefits pedestrians. However, improvement of the OTC in terms of the physiological equivalent temperature (PET—a better indicator of human thermal sensation) was noticeable (e.g., <42 °C or from very hot to hot) when the urban canyon was orientated parallel to the prevailing wind direction only. This implies that in order to improve city resilience in terms of heat stress, more holistic adaptation measures in urban planning are needed. This includes the introduction of more breezeways and building disposition to facilitate the urban ventilation, as well as urban tree arrangement and sunshades to reduce direct solar radiation to plan for the impact of future climate change.

Keywords: urban climate; adaptation measures; outdoor thermal comfort; city resilience; sustainable cities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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