Evaluation of Thermal Comfort Conditions in the Working Environments of Seasonal Agricultural Workers in Csa Koppen Climate Type

Nihat Karakuş, Serdar Selim, Ceren Selim, Rifat Olgun (), Ahmet Koç, Zeynep R. Ardahanlıoğlu, Sülem Şenyiğit Doğan and Nisa Ertoy
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Nihat Karakuş: Vocational School of Serik G-S. Sural, Akdeniz University, 07500 Antalya, Türkiye
Serdar Selim: Faculty of Science, Akdeniz University, 07070 Antalya, Türkiye
Ceren Selim: Faculty of Architecture, Akdeniz University, 07070 Antalya, Türkiye
Rifat Olgun: Vocational School of Serik G-S. Sural, Akdeniz University, 07500 Antalya, Türkiye
Ahmet Koç: Diyarbakır Vocational School of Technical Sciences, Dicle University, 21200 Diyarbakır, Türkiye
Zeynep R. Ardahanlıoğlu: Vocational School of Fethiye Ali Sıtkı Mefharet Kocman, Mugla Sitki Kocman University, 48000 Fethiye, Türkiye
Sülem Şenyiğit Doğan: Diyarbakır Vocational School of Technical Sciences, Dicle University, 21200 Diyarbakır, Türkiye
Nisa Ertoy: Vocational School of Technical Sciences, Akdeniz University, 07070 Antalya, Türkiye

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: This study focuses on determining the thermal comfort conditions of seasonal agricultural workers during the hot periods of the year when agricultural production is intense in the Aksu/Türkiye region, which is characterized by the Csa climate type according to the Köppen–Geiger climate classification. In this study, the thermal comfort conditions of seasonal agricultural workers working on open farmlands were evaluated in ten-day, monthly, and seasonal periods for 6 months between 5:00 and 21:00 h using the modified Physiological Equivalent Temperature (mPET) index in the Rayman Pro software according to their activity energy during work. The results of the study reveal that increased activity energy leads to a decrease in thermal comfort conditions of agricultural workers, mPET values of agricultural workers engaged in soil cultivation (Group II) are 2.1 to 2.9 °C higher than the mPET values of workers engaged in plant care and harvesting (Group I), and the agricultural workers in Group II are exposed to more heat stress. The thermal comfort conditions of agricultural workers in Group I deteriorate between 09:00 and 16:00 h with mPET values between 34.1 and 35.3 °C and those of agricultural workers in Group II deteriorate between 08:00 and 17:00 h with mPET values between 34.3 and 37.7 °C. In this context, the daily comfortable working time in the morning and afternoon was found to be 9 h for Group I and 7 h for Group II. Overall, determining the comfortable working hours of agricultural workers in regions with different climate types in future studies will be an important resource for decision-makers in developing strategies to protect the health and increase the productivity of agricultural workers.

Keywords: thermal comfort; agricultural workers; Csa climate type; Rayman model; mPET (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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