Climate and Built Form

Lecture 2 _ Elements of Climate

 Information about climate

Factors determining Climate Temperature

Humidity
Precipitation
Sky condition
Solar radiation
Wind
Special Characteristics
Vegetation

Need to study only those aspects which will effect human comfort
Temperature

• Degree of hotness or coldness of a substance

• Measured in degree Celsius (˚C) with a mercury thermometer

• Dry bulb temperature (DBT) or true air temperature is taken in shade inside a
louvered wooden box, known as Stevenson screen, at a height of 1.2 to 1.8 m
above the ground

• Maximum-minimum thermometer used to record maximum and minimum

temperature reached in a specific time period

• Thermograph gives continuous graphic recording of temperature variations

Temperature – Required Data

• Monthly mean – Average of each days maximum and minimum and then the
average of these averages for 30 days
• Monthly mean maxima – average of 30 days maximum temperatures
• Monthly mean minima - average of 30 days minimum temperatures
• Monthly extreme maxima – Highest ever recorded
• Monthly extreme minima – Lowest ever recorded

These five values for each of the twelve months would give a reasonably accurate
picture of temperature conditions
Humidity

• Absolute humidity (AH) , the amount of moisture actually present in unit mass or unit
volume of air (g/kg or g/m3)

• Saturation-point Humidity (SH) is the amount of moisture the air can hold at a given
temperature

• Relative Humidity (RH) gives direct indication of evaporation potential. The ratio of actual
amount of moisture present, to the amount of moisture the air could hold at the given
temperature and is expressed as percentage.

RH = (AH/SH) x 100
Humidity - measurement

• Wet and Dry bulb hygrometer.

• Consists of two ordinary mercury thermometers mounted
side by side
• One measures DBT
• Bulb of the second one is covered with a gauze or wick and
kept wet. The reading of this thermometer is known as
Wet Bulb Temperature (WBT)
• Moisture evaporating gives a cooling effect and so WBT
will be less than DBT
• With the DBT and WBT values we can find the RH, AH and
vapor pressure using a psychrometric chart
Psychrometric Chart
• Shows the relation
between
– Absolute Humidity
– Relative Humidity
– DBT
– WBT
– Vapor pressure
Humidity – DBT & WBT

• Moisture evaporating gives a cooling effect and so WBT will be less than DBT

• In dry air evaporation is more, cooling will be pronounced, WBT reading will be lesser and so
difference will be greater

• When RH= 100% , DBT and WBT will be equal (no evaporation)

• Wet bulb depression = DBT – WBT

• Rate of evaporation, and thus the wet bulb depression is a function of the relative humidity
Humidity – Data Required

• Monthly mean maximum- Average of 30 days’ maximum

• Monthly mean minimum- Average of 30 days’ minimum

• Only possible when continuous hygrograph readings are available

• If not available, two readings are taken

– Just before sunrise at 0600 hrs (approx. maximum)
– Afternoon at 1500 hrs (approx. minimum)

• Afternoon values are much more characteristic of a given location and so is often is used
alone as a brief indication of prevailing humidity conditions
Precipitation

• Collective term used for all forms of water deposited (precipitated) from the atmosphere –
rain, snow, hail, dew, frost etc.
• Measured by rain gauges
• Expressed in millimeter (or centimeter) per a unit time (mm/day, cm/month)
• Total precipitation values for each month would show pattern of dry and wet seasons
• Ever recorded maxima and minima would give an indication of reliability of rains or
deviations from the average
• Maximum rainfall for any 24 hour period is useful for prediction of flooding and for design
of surface drainage
• Maximum hourly rainfall (mm/h) should also be known
Sky Condition
• Usually described in terms of presence or absence of
clouds

• On average, two observations are made per day

• Proportion of sky covered by clouds is expressed as

percentage or octets

• Single average figure won’t give accurate picture of sky

conditions at different times of day which is very important
for the design of roof over hangs, sunshades etc.
Solar Radiation
• Sunshine recorder register the duration of sunshine

• Solarimeter, heliometer, actinometer, pyranometer etc. are used

for quantitative recording

• Usually recorded in Btu/ft2h , kcal/m2h or langleys (cal/cm2) per

hour

• Now accepted international standard unit is W/m2 (J/m2s)

• For radiation received over a longer period of time like a day will
be expressed in J/m2day or MJ/m2day
Solar Radiation –Required Data

• Average daily amounts of solar radiation (MJ/m2day) for each month of the year would
give a fair indication of seasonal variations

• Highest and lowest daily totals for each month to set the limits of variations

• For purpose of detail design, hourly totals (MJ/m2hr) or hourly average intensity (W/m2)
must be known for a typically high and typically low radiation day of the year
Wind
• Wind velocity is measured by cup-type or propeller anemometer

• Direction is found out using a wind vane

• Anemograph can produce continuous recordings of wind velocity and

directional changes

• Free wind velocities are recorded in open flat area at a height of 10m

• Measurements in urban areas are often taken at a height between

10m and 20m to avoid obstructions

• Velocities near the ground are a good deal lower than the free wind
speed
Wind – Required Data

• Must try to determine

– whether there is a prevailing direction of winds
– Whether predictable daily or seasonal shifts occur
– Whether there is recognizable pattern of daily or seasonal velocities

• It is also important to note the calm periods in each month

• Also get information about the occurrence of storms, hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes
etc.
Special Characteristics

• Most regions experience conditions which are unfavorable, like hail, thunderstorms, earthquakes,
tornadoes, hurricanes, dust-storms etc.

• It is important to get information about their frequency, likely duration and nature

• Must classify them into

1. Which affect human comfort
2. Which may endanger safety of buildings and inhabitants

• Discomfort can be accepted if it is rare enough and of short duration

• Structural safety must be guaranteed however infrequent the danger

Vegetation

• Character and abundance of plant life

• Vegetation can influence the local climate
• Important element in the design of outdoor spaces, providing shade and protection from
glare
• Includes identifying major species of native plants and trees.
Graphical Representation
Graphical Representation

• Not easy to understand a climate with data from meteorological station

• Necessary to sort , summarize and simplify available data
Climate Graph
• Shows readings for all important climatic factors
in single graph
• Gives clear picture of climatic conditions
throughout the year
Isopleths

• A line on a map connecting places

registering the same amount or ratio
of some geographical or
meteorological phenomenon or
phenomena
• Also called isogram or isoline
• Shows only a single element.