Evaluation of Outdoor Thermal Human Comfort Between Coastal and Inland Regions Over Libya

Environmental Science

This study analyzed the thermal human comfort of Libya based on the Discomfort Index (DI) method. For this purpose, the average monthly meteorological data of air temperature and relative humidity were obtained from four stations (Tripoli, Benghazi, Sabha and Al Kufra) during (1981-2021) period. The result indicated that the highest value of DI obtained in Tripoli during August, with 25.3°C which fell into the category “More than 50% of the total population feels discomfort”. Climate of Libya are dominated by the hot arid Sahara and Mediterranean in the thin coastal strip. With the onset of the summer months, the thermal comfort in the coastal cities decreases with the increase in humidity, so that the inner cities become more thermal comfort. The difference in mean monthly maximum air temperature between coastal (Tripoli) and inland (Sabha) areas is about 7.1 ºC, while the difference was 8.3 ºC between Benghazi and Al Kufra. The difference appears clear and noticeable between the minimum air temperatures between the coastal regions and the interior regions. It seems that climatic changes have begun to affect the climate and human comfort in Libya.

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