Redefining human thermal perception for the Mediterranean climates

SARS-COV-2 focuses on the comfort of outdoor spaces in large cities. Creating comfortable spaces for children and improving the habitability of cities are essential today. Climate change is real, and its main adverse effects are already being felt: Urban Heat Island and recurring heat waves. Numerous comfort models predict the state of the occupants of space. However, these comfort indices need to be validated in Mediterranean climates. This study tests the COMFA comfort model in a real case in Seville. Thermal monitoring campaigns are carried out during the intermediate seasons of warm weather in a primary school. The main objective is to know the effect of the urban heat island and the climatic conditions to which the person is subjected. For this purpose, fixed, semi-mobile, and mobile sensors were used to carry out surveys. Theoretical predictions provided by the COMFA thermal comfort model were compared with the subjective responses of the occupants. 65% of the model's results predict what people feel and tend to overestimate the real thermal perception, especially in warm climates such as Seville. These results can be helpful to redefine thermal comfort for climate change mitigation solutions assessment in public spaces.