Assessment of the Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Oases Settlements

Abstract

Oases throughout the world have become important ecosystems to replenish food and water supplies. The Saharan Oases exist above the largest underground water supplies in the World. In North Africa, oases witness significantly growing populations in the oasis towns and receive thousands of tourists yearly. In oasis settlements, the majority of the population spends most of the time outdoors, in extremely hot conditions; however, few studies have investigated urban outdoor thermal comfort conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to assess thermal comfort in the Tolga Oasis Complex and test the validity of the 'oasis effect' concept. The methodology is based on comparative field measurement and calculation approaches in the heart of Tolga Palm Grove and in different urban settlements. Results indicate highest heat stress levels (Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) index) in the oases Palm Grove in July, PET = 41.7 • C, and urban settlements, PET = 40.9 • C. Despite the significant difference between the old and new settlement fabrics, our measurements and calculation did not identify any noticeable variation of thermal comfort. Thus, the oasis effect on the outdoor thermal comfort was insignificant (during July and August 2018). Finally, the study discusses ways to improve outdoor spaces design and relieve heat stress in the settlements of Tolga.

Quantification of the Outdoor Thermal Comfort within Different Oases Urban Fabrics

“…However the cooling degree days were greater with 1113 CDD. Otherwise, the highest temperature registered during the last decade is 46 • C in July, when the lowest is 3.0 • C in January [5]. These last weather data indicate the climactic nature of the territory, which is hot and arid.…”

“…In the study case, it is necessary to indicate that the distance between neighborhoods and Palm Grove is essential. (S1) is considered the closest to the Palm Grove with a distance (<100 m), while the (S2) and (S3) are further (>1000 m) [5].…”

“…(a) Old neighborhood (S1): (1, 2, 3). (b) Individual Housing neighborhood (S2): (4,5,6). (c) Multifamily Housing neighborhood (S3): (7,8,9).…”

“…Therefore, this study investigates the outdoor thermal comfort in three different neighborhoods in Tolga Oases Complex. Tolga Oases Complex is one of the most significant oases settlements in North Africa that has been surrounded by over 1,000,000 palm trees [5]. The research questions corresponding to the research objectives are:…”

Determining Thermal Comfort Zones for Outdoor Recreation Planning: A Case Study of Erbil – Iraq

“…Several indices have been developed over the last four decades and used in many studies to assess the thermal conditions of outdoor activities (Mieczkowski, 1985;Hoppe, 1999;Matzarakis, et al, 1999;Morgan et al, 2000;Toy et al, 2005;Matzarakis, 2006;Matzarakis et al, 2007;Matzarakis et al, 2010;Zengin et al, 2010;Lin and Matzarakis, 2011;Farajzadeh and Matzarakis, 2012;Daneshvar et al, 2013;Topay, 2013;Yilmaz et al, 2013;Matallah et al, 2020). Common indices for thermal comfort analysis are Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), Standard Effective Temperature (SET) and Perceived Temperature (PT) (Matzarakis, 2006).…”