CLIMATOLOGY LESSON 1 QUESTION

BANK AND ANSWERS

2MARKS

1. What are the factors which will affect the climate of a place?
1. Solar Radiation

2. Earth sun relationship

3. Distance from the sea

4. Presence of ocean currents

5. Wind

6. Topography

7. Proximity to equator

2. Differentiate the term weather & Climate.

 Climate can be defined as region with certain conditions of temperature, dryness, wind,
light etc.
 Scientific definition is: An integration in time of the physical states of the atmospheric
environment, characteristic of a certain geographical location.
 Weather is the momentary state of the atmospheric environment at a certain location.
 Climate is defined as the integration in time of weather conditions.

3. Define Climatology.
Climatology or climate science is the scientific study of climate, scientifically defined as weather
conditions averaged over a period of time

4. Define Effective Temperature.

  It was produced by Houghton and yaglou in 1923. It can be defined as the temperature
of a still, saturated atmosphere, which would, in absence of radiation produce the same
effect as the atmosphere in question.

5. Define Thermal Comfort.

 The range of conditions within which at least 80% of the people would feel comfortbale,
can be termed ‘comfort zone’. This has been shown on the bioclimatic chart and it is
shown super imposed on the CET nomogram.

6. How does altitude affect the climate of a place?

 The earth rotates around its own axis, each rotation making 24 hour day.
The axis of this rotation is tilted to the plane of the elliptical orbit, at an angle of 23.5 from
normal.
Maximum intensity is received on a plane normal to the direction of radiation. Due to the
tilted position, however, the area receiving the maximum intensity moves north and south,
between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of capricorn. This is the main cause of seasonal
changes.

7. Highlight the characteristics of Warm & Humid Climate.

Location Belt near the equator extending to about 15
deg N and S.
Eg. Colombo, Singapore.

Special characteristics High humidity- accelerates algae growth,

rusting and rotting.
Organic building materials tend to decay
rapidly.
Thunder storms are accompanied by
frequent air- to-air electrical discharges.

8. Highlight the characteristics of Hot & Dry Climate.

Location It occurs in two belts at latitudes between approximately
15 and 30 deg north and south of equator.
Eg. Baghdad, Alice springs

Special characteristics During certain months dust and sand storms may be
frequent. The high day- time temperatures and rapid
cooling at night may cause materials to crack and break
up.

9. Highlight the characteristics of Cold Climate.

Location Land mass near the tropics of cancer and capricorn, which are
sufficiently far from the equator to experience marked seasonal
changes. Eg. Lahore, Newdelhi.

Special characteristics Seasonal changes in relative humidity cause rapid weakening of

building materials. Dust and sand storms may occur. Termites
are common.

10. Human body heat balance.

 Heat is continuously produced by the body. Most of the biochemical processes involved in tissue
building, energy conversion and muscular work are exotherm, i.e. heat producing. The process
involved in converting food stuff into living matter and useful form of energy are known as
metabolism.
 The total metabolic heat production can be divided into Basal Metabolism, i.e. the heat
production of vegetative, automatic processes which are continuous, and the Muscular
metabolism, i.e. the heat production of muscles whilst carrying out consciously controlled work.
Of all the energy produced in the body, only about 20% is utilised, the remaining 80% is ‘surplus’
heat and must be dissipated to the environment.

16 MARKS
4. What are the parameters that characterize the climate of a place? Define the
parameters.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CLIMATE:

 Every city, town or village and even a precinct in a town may have its own
climate, slightly different from the climate described for the region- the
Macro climate.
Site climate:
  Site climate establish the scale : whatever the size of the project, it implies
the climate of the area available and is to be used for the given purpose,
both in horizontal extent and in height.
Designer’s task if the site is given:

 Identify the area most suitable for habitation.

 Take advantage of the favourable characteristics and mitigate the adverse
characteristics of the site
 The nature and extent of climatic deviations
Local factors:

The factors which may cause local deviation,

 Topography: slope, orientation, exposure, elevation, hills or valleys, at or

near the site.
 Ground surface: natural or man made, its reflectance, permeability and the
soil temperature, as these affect vegetation and this turn affects the
climate
 Three-dimensional objects: trees or tree- belts, fences, walls and buildings,
as these may influence air movement, may cast a shadow.
Air temperature:

 The air temperature is dependent upon the amount of heat gained or lost
at the earth’s surface and any other surfaces with which the air recently
been in contact.
 During the day, as surface are heated by solar radiation, the air nearest to
the ground acquires the highest temperature. In calm conditions the air
within 2 m of the ground remains stratified in layers of differing
temperatures.
 Mixing of the hotter and cooler layers takes place as the heat build-up of
the lowest layer becomes great enough to cause an upward eddy of
warmer, lighter air.
 At night, particularly on clear nights, the ground loses much heat by
radiation and soon after sunset its temperature falls below that of the air.
The direction of heat flow is reversed.
 This phenomenon is called as temperature inversion, as the day time
situation of decreasing temperature with increase of height is taken as
normal.
  Cold air tends to settle in the deepest depressions and behaves as liquid. If
it flows down the hill and along the floor of a long, sloping valley it can add
up to a ‘Katabatic wind’: a concentrated and accelerating flow of a cold
mass of air.
 Topography can strongly influence air temperature, a difference of 7 to 8 m
in height can cause a difference of 5 to 6 deg c in air temperature, under
still air conditions.
Humidity:

 During the day, as the lowest layer of air is being heated by the ground
surface, its RH is rapidly decreased. Low RH increase the rate of
evaporation.
 The following situation is likely to arise, if the air is still:
At ground At 2m
Temperature High Lower
Relative humidity Low Higher
Absolute humidity High Lower
 At night, the situation is reversed. Lowest layer cools, it RH increases.
Further cooling the excess moisture condenses out in the form of dew after
which fog will start.
Precipitation:

 When the ground level changes by more than 300m, the windward slope
can be expected to receive a rainfall more than the leeward slope.
 Similar situation can develop over towns, where the more absorbent
surface reach a high temperature and can produce an upward air
movement. Such an upward current may divert any horizontal air
movement in an upward direction, with similar effects to a hill slope.
Solar radiation:

 The intensity on a theoretical horizontal plane above the ground is affected

by local variations in the transparency of the atmosphere.
 The intensity on the actual ground surface is influenced by the slope and
orientation of the site, which is negligible around the equator.
 The daily total amount of radiation may also be influenced by the slope but
also near by hills or even trees and existing buildings, which may cast long
shadows.
  Radiation on a vertical building surface will be affected by its orientation.
Air movement:

 Near ground wind speed is always less than higher up, but with uneven
ground cover the rate of increase in speed with height is much more than
with an unbroken smooth surface, such as water.
 On a hilly site, the greater wind speeds will be experienced at the crests of
hills.
 The day time heating of air over barren ground often gives rise to local
thermal winds. Large stretches of water can give rise to local coastal cool
breezes but increases the humidity.
Special characteristics:

 Thunder storms are macro climatic phenomena, but local topography can
influence their path, their intensity and even their frequency.
  Hill top are mostly subjected to lightning strikes and a tall building, which is
the highest object of large area even on level ground, is an attractive target
for lightning.
 Dust and sand storms are influenced by local factors, both by the ground
surface providing sand and dust to be carried by the wind, and by
topography in funnelling or diverting the wind.
 Earthquake risk should also be considered. If the site lies in major seismic
zone, expert advice should be sort regarding the least risky part of a large
site.
Vegetation:

 Trees and vegetation form an intermediate layer between the earth’s

surface and the atmosphere. By covering the ground with vegetation, the
surface of contact is transferred to a higher layer. In hot dry regions of the
earth, even lightest plant cover is quite considerable.
Urban climate:

 Man made environments can create microclimate of their own, deviating

from the macroclimate of the region to a degree depending on the extent
of man’s intervention. Such interventions can be greatest in large towns or
cities that can be called as ‘URBAN CLIMATE’
The factors causing the deviations of the urban climate are,

 Changed surface qualities- pavements, buildings

 Buildings- casting shadows and barrier to winds, sometimes channelizing
 the wind flow, heat absorbed and released in their mass.
 Energy seepage- through walls of heated buildings, the output of
refrigeration plants and air conditioning, heat loss from industries, furnaces
 Atmospheric pollution- waste products of boilers, industrial chimneys,
exhaust from motors- cars.
 Air temperature in a city can be 8 deg C higher than in the surrounding
countryside.
 Relative humidity is reduced by 5 to 10% due to quick run-off of rain water
from paved areas, absence of vegetation.
 Wind velocity can be reduced to less than half of that in the adjoining open
country, but the funnelling effect can double the wind velocity.
Site climatic data:
  Summarizing all the above data’s that is more related to the site conditions.

1. What are the major components of climate? Explain its significance and also how is it
measured?
(OR)

6. Explain various components of Climate.

Components of Climate

The climate system, as defined is an interactive system consisting of five major components:

• THE ATMOSPHERE

- The most unstable and rapidly changing part of the system.

- Composed of Nitrogen (78.1%), Oxygen (20.9% ) and Argon (0.93%).

• THE HYDROSPHERE

- Comprising all liquid surface and subterranean water, both fresh

water, including rivers, lakes and aquifers, and saline water of the oceans and seas.

• THE CRYOSPHERE,

- Includes the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, continental glaciers and snow

fields, sea ice and permafrost,

- It derives its importance to the climate system from its high reflectivity (albedo) for solar

radiation, its low thermal conductivity, its large thermal inertia and, especially, its critical role

in driving deep ocean water circulation

• THE LAND SURFACE AND

Vegetation and soils at the land surface control how energy received from the Sun is returned

to the atmosphere. Some is returned as long-wave (infrared) radiation, heating the

atmosphere as the land surface warms.

• THE BIOSPHERE

- The marine and terrestrial biospheres have a major impact on the atmosphere’s composition.

- The biota influence the uptake and release of greenhouse gases. Through the photosynthetic

process, both marine and terrestrial plants (especially forests) store significant amounts of

carbon from carbon dioxide.

- Plays a central role in the carbon cycle.

1. Climatic information:

The designer is interested specifically in those aspects of climate which affect human comfort and the
use of buildings. They include averages, changes and extremes of temperature, the temperature
differences between day and night and its distribution, air movements and special features, such as
trade winds, thunder storms and hurricanes.

Climatic records as gathered at airports and meteorological stations are not primarily intended for the
use of designers. It’s their task to analyze climatic information and present it in a form that allows him to
identify features that are beneficial or harmful to the future occupants of his building.

2. Temperature measurements:

The temperature of the air is measured in degree Celsius, most often with a mercury thermometer. The
dry bulb or true air temperature is a value taken in the shade, the thermometer being mounted inside a
louvered wooden box, known as the Stevenson screen at a height of 1.2 to 1.8 m above ground.

3. Temperature data:

These are five values that are assimilated for each of the 12 months, that gives a reasonably accurate
picture of temperature conditions, on which the design work can be based. The values are,

• Monthly mean temperature

• Monthly mean maxima and minima- diurnal variations
• Monthly mean range of temperature
• Monthly extreme maxima and minima
• Monthly extreme range of temperatures.

4. Humidity measurement:

Humidity is the amount of moisture actually present in unit mass or unit volume of air, in terms of g/kg
or g/m3.
The relative humidity is the ratio of the actual amount of moisture present, to the amount of moisture
the air could hold at the given temperature expressed as a percentage.

RH= AH X 100(%)

SH

Humidity is usually measured in the wet and dry bulb hygrometer. This consists of two ordinary
mercury thermometers mounted side by side. The first one measures the air dry bulb temperature. The
bulb of the second one is covered with a gauze and is kept wet. Moisture evaporating gives a cooling
effect, thus the reading of wet bulb temperature will be less than the DBT

5. Vapour pressure:

Another indication of atmospheric humidity is vapour pressure, i.e. the partial pressure of water vapour
present in air. The atmospheric pressure(P) is the sum of the partial pressure of dry air (Pa) and the
partial vapour pressure (Pv):

P=Pa+Pv

The air is saturated when the vapour pressure is equal to the pressure of saturated vapour of the same
temperature (Pvs).

RH=AHx100=PVx100 (%)

SH Pvs

Vapour pressure is measured in the standard SI pressure unit, the Newton per meter square (N/m2)

6. Precipitation:

Precipitation is the collective term used for rain, snow, hail, dew and frost, that is for all forms of water
deposited from the atmosphere. It is measured by rain-gauges and expressed in millimeter per a time
unit.

Values indicating the total precipitation for each month of the year would show the pattern of dry and
wet seasons.
 7. Driving rain:

Driving rain index is the product of annual rainfall and the annual average wind velocity.( in metres per
second)

1m2 /s to 3m2 /s– sheltered.

3m2 /s to 7m2 /s– moderate.

Above 7m2 /s – sever

 8. Sky conditions:

Sky conditions are usually described in terms of presence or absence of clouds. On average, two
observations are made per day, when the proportion of sky covered by cloud is expressed as a
percentage.

It is useful for the designers to know the time of the day and frequency of observations. A single average
figure giving the sky conditions for a typical day a given month may conceal significant differences, eg.
Between morning and afternoon conditions, which may affect the design of roofs, overhangs and
shading devices.

9. Solar radiation measurement:

Sunshine recorder will register the duration of sunshine, which can be expressed in number of hours per
day, as an average for each month.

10. Wind measurement:

• Wind velocity is measured by a cup-type or propeller anemometer, or by a pitot tube, and its
direction is measured by a wind vane. An anemograph can produce continuous recordings of
wind velocity and directional changes.
• The designer must try to determine whether there is a prevailing direction of winds, whether
predictable daily or seasonal shifts occur and whether there is a recognizable pattern of daily or
seasonal velocities. It is also important to note the calm periods in each month.

Special characteristics:

• Most regions experience conditions which are particularly unfavorable such as hail and thunder
storms, earthquakes, tornadoes and dust-storms. Although such events are rare, it is important
to extract from meteorological data their frequency, likely duration and nature.
• The designer must classify rare events into those which affect human comfort and those which
may endanger the safety of buildings and the lives of inhabitants.

Discomfort- even if it impedes work or sleep – can be accepted if it is rare enough and lasts only for a
few hours. Structural safety, on the other hand, must be guaranteed however infrequent the danger.
 11. Vegetation:

The picture of climate is incomplete without some notes on the character and abundance of plant life.
Vegetation can turn its influence on the local or site climate.

12. Graphic representation:

It is necessary to sort, summarize and simplify available data with reference to the objectives and
requirements of climatic design.

2. Discuss the ‘human body heat balance’ through a sketch.

Task of designer is to create the best possible indoor climate. The occupants of a building judge
the quality of the design from a physical as well as an emotional point of view.

HUMAN BODY HEAT PRODUCTION:

• Heat is continuously produced by the body. Most of the biochemical processes involved
in tissue building, energy conversion and muscular work are exothermic, i.e. heat
producing. The process involved in converting food stuff into living matter and useful
form of energy are known as metabolism.
• The total metabolic heat production can be divided into Basal Metabolism, i.e. the heat
production of vegetative, automatic processes which are continuous, and the Muscular
metabolism, i.e. the heat production of muscles whilst carrying out consciously
controlled work. Of all the energy produced in the body, only about 20% is utilized, the
remaining 80% is ‘surplus’ heat and must be dissipated to the environment.
THE BODY’S HEAT LOSS:
• The deep body temperature must remain balanced and constant around 37 deg c. in
order to maintain body temperature at this steady level, all surplus heat must be
dissipated to the environment. If there is some form of simultaneous heat gain from the
environment that also must be dissipated.
• The body can release heat to its environment by convection, radiation and evaporation
and to lesser extent by conduction.
• Convection is due to heat transmission from the body to the air in contact with the skin
or clothing which then rises and is replaced by cooler air.
• Radiant heat loss depends on the temperature of the body surface and the temperature
of opposing surfaces.
• Evaporation heat loss is governed by the rate of evaporation, which in turn depends on
the humidity of air and on the amount of moisture available for evaporation.
Evaporation takes place in lungs through breathing, and on the skin as imperceptible
perspiration and sweat.
• Conduction depends on the temperature difference between the body surface and the
object the body is in direct contact with.
3. How one can quantify human thermal comfort? Discuss the various parameters that
affect thermal comfort and how an effective temperature unifies these into an index.

ANSWER: The thermal balance of the body can be expressed by an equation. If the heat gain and
loss factors are:
Gain: Met = metabolism(basal and muscular)
Cnd = conduction(contact with warmer bodies)
Cnv = convection(if the air is warmer than the skin)
Rad = radiation(from the sun, the sky and hot bodies)

Loss: Cnd = conduction(contact with cold bodies)

Cnv = convection(if the air is cooler than the skin)
Rad = radiation(to the night sky and cold surface)
Evp = evaporation(of moisture and sweat)
Then thermal balance exists when, Met-Evp+Cnd+Cnv+Rad = 0

• If this sum is more than zero, Vasometer adjustment takes place:

• Blood circulation to the skin surface is increased, more heat is transported to the
surface and the skin temperature is elevated- all forms of heat loss processes are
accelerated.
• If this sum is less than zero, the blood circulation to the skin is reduced, skin
temperature is lowered and the heat loss processes are slowed down
• If the vasometer regulation is insufficient and overheating continues, sweating will start.
• If under heating continues, violent shivering mat occur, which cause a ten, fold increase
in metabolic heat production for short periods.
 EFFECTS OF CLIMATIC FACTORS ON HUMAN BODY HEAT LOSS:

Calm, warm air, moderate humidity:

• Air temperature – around 18 deg celsius
• Air calm and when humidity is between 40 – 60%, person engaged in sedentary work
will dissipate the surplus heat without ant difficulty by radiation, convection and
evaporation.

Hot air and considerable radiation:

• Skin temperature – between 31 to 34 deg c.
• As the air temperature approaches skin temperature, convective heat loss gradually
decreases.
• Vasometer regulation will increase the skin temperature to the higher limit. So there will
be no more convective heat loss.
• As long as the average temperature of opposing surfaces is below skin temperature,
there will be some radiation heat loss, but as the temperature increases, radiation
losses are diminished.
• Both convective and radiant elements in heat exchange process are positive, thermal
balance can still be maintained with evaporation, provided the air is sufficiently dry to
permit a high evaporation rate.

Hot air, radiation and appreciable air movement:

• When air is hot and surface temperatures are warm both convection and radiant
elements are positive, the movement of air (with 90% RH)accelerate evaporation, thus
increase heat dissipation, even if its temperature is higher than that of the skin.

Saturated, still air, body temperature:

• The air temperature of surfaces are above the skin temperature, no appreciable air
movement and the relative humidity is near 100%. Sweating would be profuse, but
there would be no evaporation. There will be convective and radiant heat gain;
therefore all the elements in the thermal equation would be positive.
• The body temperature would begin to rise by 4 deg c above normal temp, heat stroke
would occur, followed by a rapid increase in temperature, when the deep body
temperature reaches about 41 deg c, coma sets in and death is imminent.
• Such conditions rarely, if ever, occur in nature, but can quite easily be produced inside
buildings of poor design and with bad management.

Effects of long exposure:

• Any conditions even which are perfectly comfortable, may produce adverse effects if it
is constant and there is no change at all over prolonged periods. One of the basic needs
of human is change and variation.
 Subjective variables:
• The sensation of comfort or discomfort depends primarily on the four climatic variables.
Thermal preferences are however influenced by a number of subjective factors like
clothing, acclimatisation, age and sex, body shape, subcutaneous fat, state of health,
food and drink and skin colour.

SEARCH FOR COMFORT SCALE:

• To assess the effect of climatic conditions on the body’s heat dissipation processes,
handling four independent variables simultaneously was considered difficult and many
experiments was carried out to devise a single scale that combines the effects of these
four factors. Such scales are called as ‘ Thermal indices’ or ‘comfort scales’.
• Special rooms were built and used, in which any set of indoor climatic conditions could
be produced. Experimental subjects were located in the room and they were asked to
record their subjective reactions on a questionnaire after each variation in the
conditions, according to the set scale extending from ‘very hot’ to ‘very cold’.
• All datas were evaluated and results plotted on graph, producing a nomogram which
defines the experimentally found relationships.
• Various research workers devised some thirty different thermal indices. Some of the
most important ones are Effective temperature(ET), Corrected effective
temperature(CET), Equivalent Warmth(EW), Operative temperature(OT), Equatorial
comfort index(ECI), Resultant temperature(RT), Predicted four hour sweat rate(P4SR),
Heat stress index(HSI), Bioclimatic chart, Index of thermal stress(ITS).

EFFECTECTIVE TEMPERATURE:
• It was produced by Houghton and yaglou in 1923. It can be defined as the temperature
of a still, saturated atmosphere, which would, in absence of radiation produce the same
effect as the atmosphere in question.
• In 1947 Yaglou slightly revised the scale which is called as corrected effective
temperature.
• Revisions of it includes a nomogram which defines the ET index directly from DBT and
WBT readings.

Corrected effective temperature:

• ET scale integrates the effects of three variables (temperature, humidity and air
movement), the corrected effective temperature scale also includes radiation effects.
• This is the same nomogram that defines the ET index from DBT and WBT, where if globe
thermometer readings are used in these nomograms in lieu of the DBT values, the
subjective reactions to radiant heat exchange are adequately allowed for. This is the
widely used one.
 5. What are the various types of climate? Explain their characteristics in brief.

• The classification given below was suggested by G A Atkinson in 1953. The basis of this
classification is given by the two atmospheric factors which dominantly influence human
comfort: air temperature and humidity.
• The tropical regions of earth are divided into three major climatic zones and three sub
groups:
1. Warm humid equatorial climate – sub group: warm humid island or trade wind
climate
2. Hot dry desert, or semi desert climate- sub group: hot dry maritime desert climate
3. Composite or monsoon climate – subgroup: tropical upland climate