Heat Island and Thermal Bioclimate in Athens, Greece

Abstract

Urbanization and industrialization are the main causes of the well documented climatic phenomenon called heat island. As the problem is worse in big cities, more urban residents complain about discomfort conditions. In this context, the aim of the present study is a combinational approach of heat island and thermal bioclimate in the city of Athens. For this purpose meteorological data of air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation and cloud cover data have been employed for 3 years, by a network of stations, as obtained by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, the National Observatory of Athens and the National Technical University of Athens. Thermal comfort was assessed through Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), a thermal index derived from human heat balance, utilizing the Rayman model.