Urban Heat Islands and Thermal Comfort: A Case Study of Zorrotzaurre Island in Bilbao

This study assesses the impact of a heat wave on the thermal comfort of an unconstructed area: the North Zone of the Island of Zorrotzaurre (Bilbao, Spain). In this study, the impact of urban planning as proposed in the master plan on thermal comfort is modeled using the ENVI-met program. Likewise, the question of whether the urbanistic proposals are designed to create more resilient urban environments is analyzed in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, especially heat waves. The study is centered on the analysis of temperature variables (air temperature and average radiant temperature) as well as wind speed and relative humidity. This was completed with the parameters of thermal comfort, the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and the Universal Temperature Climate Index (UTCI) for the hours of the maximum and minimum daily temperatures. The results demonstrated the viability of analyzing thermal comfort through simulations with the ENVI-met program in order to analyze the behavior of urban spaces in various climate scenarios.

Automated summary

This study assessed the impact of a heat wave on the thermal comfort of an unconstructed area, focusing on the North Zone of the Island of Zorrotzaurre in Bilbao, Spain. The analysis used the ENVI-met program to model urban planning proposals and their effects on thermal comfort, with a particular emphasis on resilience in the face of extreme weather events. The results demonstrated the potential for analyzing thermal comfort in urban spaces across various climate scenarios through simulations with ENVI-met.