{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T20:35:21Z","timestamp":1789504521371,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,4]],"date-time":"2021-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1614816000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100010221","name":"Higher Education Commision, Pakistan","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NO.5632\/PUNJAB\/NRPU\/R$D\/HEC\/2016"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NO.5632\/PUNJAB\/NRPU\/R$D\/HEC\/2016"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100010221","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002790","name":"Canadian Network for Research and Innovation in Machining Technology, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["n\/a"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["n\/a"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002790","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Heat stress provokes thermal discomfort to people living in semiarid and arid climates. This study evaluates thermal discomfort levels, building design concepts, and some heat mitigation strategies in low-income neighborhoods of Faisalabad, Pakistan. The outdoor and indoor weather data are collected from April to August 2016 using a weather station installed ad hoc in urban settings, and the 52 houses of the five low-income participating communities living in congested and less environment-friendly areas of Faisalabad. The discomfort index values, related to the building design concepts, including (i) house orientation to sunlight and (ii) house ventilation, are calculated from outdoor and indoor dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures. Our results show that although June was the hottest month of summer 2016, based on the monthly mean temperature of the Faisalabad region, the month of May produced the highest discomfort levels, which were higher in houses exposed to sunlight and without ventilation. The study also identifies some popular heat mitigation strategies adopted by the five participating low-income communities during various heat-related health complaints. The strategies are gender-biased and have medical, cultural\/customary backgrounds. For example, about 52% of the males and 28% of the females drank more water during dehydration, diarrhea, and eye infection. Over 11% and 19% of the males and females, respectively, moved to cooler places during fever. About 43% of the males and 51% of the females took water showers and rested to combat flu (runny nose), headache, and nosebleed. The people did not know how to cure muscular fatigue, skin allergy (from a type of Milia), and mild temperature. Planting trees in an area and developing open parks with greenery and thick canopy trees can be beneficial for neighborhoods resembling those evaluated in this study.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18052535","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,4]],"date-time":"2021-03-04T21:58:07Z","timestamp":1614895087000},"page":"2535","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":35,"title":["Thermal Discomfort Levels, Building Design Concepts, and Some Heat Mitigation Strategies in Low-Income Communities of a South Asian City"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Sana","family":"Ehsan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2032-8527","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Farhat","family":"Abbas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan"},{"name":"School of Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad","family":"Ibrahim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bashir","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Climate Energy and Water Research Institute, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aitazaz A.","family":"Farooque","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada"},{"name":"Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"IPCC (2018). Fourth Assessment Report. Geneva, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Moser, C., and Satterthwaite, D. (2010). Toward pro-poor adaptation to climate change in the urban centers of low-and middle-income countries. Social Dimensions of Climate Change: Equity and Vulnerability in a Warming World, World Bank."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Hijioka, Y., Lin, E., Pereira, J., Corlett, R., Cui, X., Insarov, G., Lasco, R., Lindgren, E., and Surjan, A. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"753","DOI":"10.1136\/jech.2009.087999","article-title":"Heat-related mortality: A review and exploration of heterogeneity","volume":"64","author":"Hajat","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Epidemiol. Community Health"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"711","DOI":"10.1097\/EDE.0b013e318176bfcd","article-title":"Heat effects on mortality in 15 European cities","volume":"19","author":"Baccini","year":"2008","journal-title":"Epidemiology"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29687","DOI":"10.1007\/s11356-019-06102-0","article-title":"A sustainable solution for electricity crisis in Pakistan: Opportunities, barriers, and policy implications for 100% renewable energy","volume":"26","author":"Shah","year":"2019","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res."},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"1","article-title":"The energetic basis of the urban heat island","volume":"108","author":"Oke","year":"1982","journal-title":"Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"197","DOI":"10.1289\/ehp.1104625","article-title":"Neighborhood effects on heat deaths: Social and environmental predictors of vulnerability in Maricopa County, Arizona","volume":"121","author":"Harlan","year":"2013","journal-title":"Environ. Health Perspect."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"282","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.jes.7500588","article-title":"Prediction of the indoor temperatures of an urban area with an in-time regression mapping approach","volume":"18","author":"Smargiassi","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Expo. Sci. Environ. Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Traci, L. (2018). Sustainable Climate Design. [Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Arizona]."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"304","DOI":"10.1016\/j.uclim.2016.02.004","article-title":"Green roofs: Experimental and analytical study of its potential for urban microclimate regulation in Mediterranean\u2013continental climates","volume":"17","author":"Alcazar","year":"2016","journal-title":"Urban Clim."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"S\u00e1nchez, C.S.G., Peir\u00f3, M.N., and Gonz\u00e1lez, F.J.N. (2017). Urban heat island and vulnerable population. The case of Madrid. Sustainable Development and Renovation in Architecture, Urbanism and Engineering, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-51442-0_1"},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"75","article-title":"Thermal Responses in Peri-urban Environment: A Case Study of Baduria Municipality in North Parganas, West Bengal","volume":"55","author":"Paul","year":"2018","journal-title":"Observer"},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Lechner, N. (2015). Heating, Cooling, Lighting. Sustainable Design Methods for Architects, John Wiley & Sons. [4th ed.]."},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"320","article-title":"Risk factors for heat related deaths during the June 2015 heat wave in Karachi, Pakistan","volume":"29","author":"Saleem","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Ayub Med Coll. Abbottabad"},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Stocker, T.F., Qin, D., Plattner, G.-K., Tignor, M., Allen, S.K., Boschung, J., Nauels, A., Xia, X., Bex, V., and Midgley, P.M. (2013). Long-term climate change: Projections, commitments and irreversibility. Climate Change 2013\u2014The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"353","DOI":"10.1111\/ina.12062","article-title":"Four principles for achieving good indoor air quality","volume":"23","author":"Nazaroff","year":"2013","journal-title":"Indoor Air"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109107","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2019.109107","article-title":"Impacts of climate change on the public health of the Mediterranean Basin population-current situation, projections, preparedness and adaptation","volume":"182","author":"Linares","year":"2020","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"390","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2004.10.009","article-title":"Epidemiologic study of mortality during the Summer 2003 heat wave in Italy","volume":"98","author":"Conti","year":"2005","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2044","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envpol.2011.01.016","article-title":"Urban and rural mortality rates during heat waves in Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany","volume":"159","author":"Gabriel","year":"2011","journal-title":"Environ. Pollut."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1186\/1880-6805-31-14","article-title":"Effects of thermal environment on sleep and circadian rhythm","volume":"31","author":"Mizuno","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Physiol. Anthropol."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"254","DOI":"10.1289\/ehp.1103532","article-title":"The Impact of Heat Islands on Mortality in Paris during the August 2003 Heat Wave","volume":"120","author":"Laaidi","year":"2012","journal-title":"Environ. Health Perspect."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"711","DOI":"10.1080\/09613218.2017.1301698","article-title":"Rethinking thermal comfort","volume":"45","author":"Nicol","year":"2017","journal-title":"Build. Res. Inf."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1054","DOI":"10.1038\/nclimate2741","article-title":"Energy consumption in buildings and female thermal demand","volume":"5","author":"Kingma","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nat. Clim. Chang."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1016\/j.enbuild.2015.12.016","article-title":"Local cooling in a warm environment","volume":"113","author":"Pallubinsky","year":"2016","journal-title":"Energy Build."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"819","DOI":"10.1080\/09613218.2017.1307647","article-title":"Healthy excursions outside the thermal comfort zone","volume":"45","author":"Hanssen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Build. Res. Inf."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109729","DOI":"10.1016\/j.enbuild.2019.109729","article-title":"Thermal expectation: Influencing factors and its effect on thermal perception","volume":"210","author":"Schweiker","year":"2020","journal-title":"Energy Build."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.15171\/ijoem.2015.672","article-title":"The deadly heat wave of Pakistan, June 2015","volume":"6","author":"Masood","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Occup. Environ. Med."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"651","DOI":"10.3109\/10408444.2011.563420","article-title":"Measurement error in environmental epidemiology and the shape of exposure-response curves","volume":"41","author":"Rhomberg","year":"2001","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.1111\/ina.12052","article-title":"The relationship between indoor and outdoor temperature, apparent temperature, relative humidity, and absolute humidity","volume":"24","author":"Nguyen","year":"2014","journal-title":"Indoor Air"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1056","DOI":"10.4085\/1062-6050-52.11.15","article-title":"The Heat Strain of Various Athletic Surfaces: A Comparison between Observed and Modeled Wet-Bulb Globe Temperatures","volume":"52","author":"Pryor","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Athl. Train."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sohar, E., Tennenbaum, J., and Robinson, N. (1962). A comparison of the Cumulative Discomfort Index (Cum. DI) and Cumulative Effective Temperature (Cum. ET), as obtained by meteorological data. Biometeorol. Pergamon, 395\u2013400.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-08-009683-4.50052-8"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1080\/00038628.2014.903568","article-title":"Heat stress within energy efficient dwellings in Australia","volume":"57","author":"Ren","year":"2014","journal-title":"Archit. Sci. Rev."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1080\/00431672.1959.9926960","article-title":"The discomfort index","volume":"12","author":"Thom","year":"1959","journal-title":"Weatherwise"},{"key":"ref_35","unstructured":"Engineering ToolBox (2021, January 30). Indoor Comfort Temperature versus Outdoor Temperature. Available online: https:\/\/www.engineeringtoolbox.com\/indoor-outdoor-temperature-d_1018.html."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.1177\/1420326X06063051","article-title":"Mould and winter indoor relative humidity in low income households in England","volume":"15","author":"Oreszczyn","year":"2006","journal-title":"Indoor Built Environ."},{"key":"ref_37","unstructured":"K\u00fcnzel, H.M. (2021, March 03). Indoor Relative Humidity in Residential Buildings\u2014A Necessary Boundary Condition to Assess the Moisture Performance of Building Envelope Systems. Available online: https:\/\/wufi.de\/literatur\/K%c3%bcnzel%20-%20Indoor%20Relative%20Humidity%20in%20Residential.pdf."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"508","DOI":"10.1136\/oemed-2020-106653","article-title":"Indoor temperature and relative humidity in hospitals: Workplace considerations during the novel coronavirus pandemic","volume":"77","author":"Quraishi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Occup. Environ. Med."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Log, T. (2019). Modeling Indoor Relative Humidity and Wood Moisture Content as a Proxy for Wooden Home Fire Risk. Sensors, 19.","DOI":"10.3390\/s19225050"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"378","DOI":"10.3390\/geosciences8100378","article-title":"Simulations of moisture gradients in wood subjected to changes in relative humidity and temperature due to climate change","volume":"8","author":"Bylund","year":"2018","journal-title":"Geosciences"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1016\/j.enbuild.2013.04.019","article-title":"Feasibility analysis of using humidex as an indoor thermal comfort predictor","volume":"64","author":"Rana","year":"2013","journal-title":"Energy Build."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2012.05.002","article-title":"The effect of tree shade and grass on surface and globe temperatures in an urban area","volume":"11","author":"Armson","year":"2012","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1016\/j.landurbplan.2015.02.009","article-title":"Street greenery and its physical and psychological impact on thermal comfort","volume":"138","author":"Klemm","year":"2015","journal-title":"Landsc. Urban Plan."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1007\/s40095-018-0295-3","article-title":"Effect of building shape, orientation, window to wall ratios and zones on energy efficiency and thermal comfort of naturally ventilated houses in tropical climate","volume":"10","author":"Pathirana","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Energy Environ. Eng."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1177\/1744259106065674","article-title":"Temperature stability of traditional and low-cost modern housing in the Eastern Cape, South Africa","volume":"30","author":"Makaka","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Build. Phys."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"674","DOI":"10.3390\/buildings3040674","article-title":"Performance evaluation of modern building thermal envelope designs in the semi-arid continental climate of Tehran","volume":"3","author":"Mohammad","year":"2013","journal-title":"Buildings"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2012.05.008","article-title":"Commentary: What measure of temperature is the best predictor of mortality?","volume":"118","author":"Astrom","year":"2012","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_48","unstructured":"Givoni, B. (1976). Man, Climate and Architecture, Applied Science Publishers. [2nd ed.]."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/18\/5\/2535\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T05:32:36Z","timestamp":1760160756000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/18\/5\/2535"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,4]]},"references-count":48,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph18052535"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph18052535","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,4]]}}}