Urban bioclimate and comfort assessment in the African city of Praia (Cape Verde)

Abstract

The population of Praia (Ilha de Santiago/Cape Verde) has recently increasedfrom 90,000 inhabitants in 2000 to 132,300 in 2012. Located in the southern part of the SantiagoIsland, the city has an average temperature of 22ºC and high values of humidity.The hot andrainy season occurs between July and October. According to the Cape Verde “National ClimateChange Adaptation” report, the temperatures increased about 1ºC in the last 15 years andscenariosindicate an annual warming between 0.7ºC and 2.5ºC until 2060. This will lead to thedeterioration of bioclimatic comfort conditions, especially in urban areas. The main goals of thisresearch are: i) to make a first-hand assessment of bioclimatic conditions and human comfort inthe city of Praia; ii) to evaluate the main microclimatic and urban factors that increase thermalstress in a “planned” neighbourhood (Palmarejo). It was shown that “moderate and strong heatstress” (PET>29ºC) occurs betweenAugust and October. The rest of the year hardly any heatstress occurs (18ºC40ºC) happens especially in poorly ventilated streets, well exposed to the sun.