Analysis of temperature, air humidity and wind conditions for the needs of outdoor thermal comfort

Abstract

On the thermal comfort of a man staying outdoor during the summer affect mostly meteorological factors, physical activity and the type of clothing. The work analyzed external air parameters, such as: temperature, relative humidity and wind speed, occuring in years 1997‒2016. Meteorological data recorded at the Rzeszów-Jasionka station allowed to determine, among others, the occurrence of maximum daily and hourly temperatures of outdoor, the daytime and hourly air relative humidity, the hourly wind speed, as well as the relationship between these parameters. In recent years, it has been observed the increase of the number of hot and very hot days which indicates a warming of the climate. The duration of series of days with maximum daily temperature above 30°C is also prolonged, which is not comfortable for a person staying outside. During summer, during hot and very hot days, the average relative humidity remained below 70%. The daily course of this factor was characterized by the opposite tendency with respect to temperature. The wind speed in the summer season varies from 0 to 6 m/s. On a daily basis, the increase in wind speed occurred in the afternoon hours which is consistent with the temperature characteristics. The occurrence of wind during the hottest hours causes a pleasant cooling of the organism.