IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i15p6531-d1211217.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Broad Scale Spatial Modelling of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature to Investigate Impact of Shade and Airflow on Heat Injury Risk and Labour Capacity in Warm to Hot Climates

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Hall

    (Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia)

  • Ana Horta

    (Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia)

Abstract

While shade and air flow are recognised factors that reduce outdoor heat exposure, the level of reduction in terms of labour capacity at varying air temperature and humidity levels is poorly understood. This study investigated cooling effects on the commonly used heat index, wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), and subsequent impact on labour capacity, for a range of air flow and shade conditions in warm to hot climates. We modelled heat exposure using a physics-based method to map WBGT for a case study region which experiences a range of heat categories with varying levels of health risks for outdoor workers. Continent-scale modelling confirmed significant spatial variability in the effect of various shade and wind speed scenarios across a range of real-world mid-summer daytime conditions. At high WBGTs, increasing shade or air flow for outdoor workers lowered heat exposure and increases labour capacity, with shade giving the greatest benefit, but cooling varied considerably depending upon underlying air temperature and humidity. Shade had the greater cooling effect; reducing incident radiation by 90% decreased WBGT by 2–6 °C depending on location. Wind had a lower cooling effect in the hottest regions, with a decreasing exponential relationship between wind speed and WBGT observed.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Hall & Ana Horta, 2023. "Broad Scale Spatial Modelling of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature to Investigate Impact of Shade and Airflow on Heat Injury Risk and Labour Capacity in Warm to Hot Climates," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(15), pages 1-17, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:15:p:6531-:d:1211217
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/15/6531/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/15/6531/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John P. Dunne & Ronald J. Stouffer & Jasmin G. John, 2013. "Reductions in labour capacity from heat stress under climate warming," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(6), pages 563-566, June.
    2. Andrew P. Hunt & Matt Brearley & Andrew Hall & Rodney Pope, 2023. "Climate Change Effects on the Predicted Heat Strain and Labour Capacity of Outdoor Workers in Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(9), pages 1-12, April.
    3. Xingcai Liu, 2020. "Reductions in Labor Capacity from Intensified Heat Stress in China under Future Climate Change," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-15, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cai, Yiyong & Newth, David & Finnigan, John & Gunasekera, Don, 2015. "A hybrid energy-economy model for global integrated assessment of climate change, carbon mitigation and energy transformation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 381-395.
    2. Agarwala, Matthew & Burke, Matt & Klusak, Patrycja & Mohaddes, Kamiar & Volz, Ulrich & Zenghelis, Dimitri, 2021. "Climate Change And Fiscal Sustainability: Risks And Opportunities," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 258, pages 28-46, November.
    3. Katherine M. Pedersen & Tania M. Busch Isaksen & Marissa G. Baker & Noah Seixas & Nicole A. Errett, 2021. "Climate Change Impacts and Workforce Development Needs in Federal Region X: A Qualitative Study of Occupational Health and Safety Professionals’ Perceptions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-13, February.
    4. CONTE KEIVABU, Risto, 2020. "Too hot to study? Gender and SES differences in the effect of temperature on school performance," SocArXiv whtf5, Center for Open Science.
    5. Wen Yi & Albert P. C. Chan, 2017. "Effects of Heat Stress on Construction Labor Productivity in Hong Kong: A Case Study of Rebar Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-14, September.
    6. Chantal Donnelly & Wei Yang & Joel Dahné, 2014. "River discharge to the Baltic Sea in a future climate," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 157-170, January.
    7. Zander, Kerstin K. & Mathew, Supriya, 2019. "Estimating economic losses from perceived heat stress in urban Malaysia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 84-90.
    8. Simon Gosling & Jamal Zaherpour & Dolores Ibarreta, 2018. "PESETA III: Climate change impacts on labour productivity," JRC Research Reports JRC113740, Joint Research Centre.
    9. Haqiqi, Iman & Buzan, Jonathan & Zanetti De Lima, Cicero & Hertel, Thomas, 2020. "Margins of Adaptation to Human Heat Stress: Local, National, and Global Socioeconomic Responses," Conference papers 333237, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    10. Zhanjie Zhang & Yong Wang & Guang J. Zhang & Cheng Xing & Wenwen Xia & Mengmiao Yang, 2024. "Light rain exacerbates extreme humid heat," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    11. Paul A. Schulte & Ivo Iavicoli & Luca Fontana & Stavroula Leka & Maureen F. Dollard & Acran Salmen-Navarro & Fernanda J. Salles & Kelly P. K. Olympio & Roberto Lucchini & Marilyn Fingerhut & Francesco, 2022. "Occupational Safety and Health Staging Framework for Decent Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-28, August.
    12. Boqiang Lin & Tong Su, 2023. "Uncertainties and green bond markets: Evidence from tail dependence," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 4458-4475, October.
    13. Anton Orlov & Jana Sillmann & Asbjørn Aaheim & Kristin Aunan & Karianne Bruin, 2019. "Economic Losses of Heat-Induced Reductions in Outdoor Worker Productivity: a Case Study of Europe," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 191-211, October.
    14. Ali Ahmadalipour & Hamid Moradkhani & Mukesh Kumar, 2019. "Mortality risk from heat stress expected to hit poorest nations the hardest," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 569-579, March.
    15. Marie-Noëlle WOILLEZ, 2019. "Revue de littérature sur le changement climatique au Maroc : observations, projections et impacts," Working Paper 7ae2aa2d-befc-471b-94be-9, Agence française de développement.
    16. Hong Tang & Qian Di, 2022. "The Effect of Prenatal Exposure to Climate Anomaly on Adulthood Cognitive Function and Job Reputation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-12, February.
    17. Christopher W. Callahan & Justin S. Mankin, 2022. "National attribution of historical climate damages," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 1-19, June.
    18. Tsigaris, Panagiotis & Wood, Joel, 2019. "The potential impacts of climate change on capital in the 21st century," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 74-86.
    19. Zheng, Zhonghua & Zhao, Lei & Oleson, Keith W., 2020. "Large model parameter and structural uncertainties in global projections of urban heat waves," Earth Arxiv f5pwa, Center for Open Science.
    20. Huimin Pang & Jiuqiang Fu & Jianming Yang, 2023. "Research on the Effectiveness of Modular Post Stations in Improving Conditions for Decent Work in Outdoor Working Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-14, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:15:p:6531-:d:1211217. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.