Evaluating outdoor thermal comfort in urban open spaces in a humid subtropical climate: Chandigarh, India

This study deals with the assessment of outdoor thermal comfort in three distinct urban open space typologies (i. e. plaza, green and waterfront) in Chandigarh, India. Micrometeorological monitoring and transverse surveys eliciting 2523 valid responses were conducted during summer and winter seasons. PET was computed based on the measured micrometeorological variables. Benchmarks pertaining to thermoneutrality and thermal acceptability were established. The thermoneutrality of the respondents corresponded to a physiological equivalent temperature of 24.09 & nbsp;C. Neutral temperatures and thermal sensation varied significantly between summer and winter. The respondents were more sensitive to the prevalent thermal environment in summer than winter. In addition, they considered the green spaces to be the most thermally comfortable among the open space typologies evaluated. The acceptable thermal comfort range was 20.2-36.6 & nbsp;C. Thermal neutrality, acceptability and comfort varied significantly based on context and the attributes of open spaces.