Perceptive and physiological adaptation of migrants with different thermal experiences: A long-term climate chamber experiment

Abstract

Thermal experience and thermal exposure are important aspects of thermal adaptation. However, the dynamic effects on thermal adaptation of thermal experiences and thermal history are not well understood. Migrants' long-term thermal adaptation process when transferring from Hot Summer and Cold Winter (HSCW), Hot Summer and Warm Winter (HSWW), and Severe Cold (SC) to Cold regions in China were studied in a longitudinal climate chamber experiment. We conducted repeated tests and systematic evaluations of the physiological and psychological responses of migrants on the time scales of day, week, month, and season. The results show that the difference in thermal exposure level between migrants’ original and current residence needed to drive the development of cold adaptation is greater than that of heat adaptation. The thermal sensitivity and comfortable temperature of the migrants varied and were related to the origin and time of migration. The psychological adaptation dominated the thermal adaptation development in the southern migrants and the physiological adaptation dominated in the northern migrants. The results contribute to understanding the mechanisms of longer-term thermal adaptation and quantifying longer-term indoor thermal experience in future thermal adaptation models.