Journal article
Correlating indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity in a sample of buildings in tropical climates
Indoor air, Vol.31(6), pp.2281-2295
11/2021
DOI: 10.1111/ina.12876
PMID: 34138487
Abstract
The incidence of several respiratory viral infections has been shown to be related to climate. Because humans spend most of their time indoors, measures of indoor climate, rather than outdoor climate, may be better predictors of disease incidence and transmission. Therefore, understanding the relationship between indoor and outdoor climate will help illuminate their influence on the seasonality of diseases caused by respiratory viruses. Indoor-outdoor relationships between temperature and humidity have been documented in temperate regions, but little information is available for tropical regions, where seasonal patterns of respiratory viral diseases differ. We have examined indoor-outdoor correlations of temperature, relative humidity (RH), and absolute humidity (AH) over a 1-year period in each of seven tropical cities. Across all cities, the average monthly indoor temperature was 25 ± 3°C (mean ± standard deviation) with a range of 20-30°C. The average monthly indoor RH was 66 ± 9% with a range of 50-78%, and the average monthly indoor AH was 15 ± 3 g/m
with a range of 10-23 g/m
. Indoor AH and RH were linearly correlated with outdoor AH when the air conditioning (AC) was off, suggesting that outdoor AH may be a good proxy of indoor humidity in the absence of AC. All indoor measurements were more strongly correlated with outdoor measurements as distance from the equator increased. Such correlations were weaker during the wet season, especially when AC was in operation. These correlations will provide insight for assessing the seasonality of respiratory viral infections using outdoor climate data, which is more widely available than indoor data, even though transmission of these diseases mainly occurs indoors.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Correlating indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity in a sample of buildings in tropical climates
- Creators
- Jin Pan - Virginia TechJulian Tang - University of LeicesterMiguela Caniza - St. Jude Children's Research HospitalJean-Michel Heraud - Institut Pasteur de MadagascarEvelyn Koay - National University of SingaporeHong Kai Lee - Singapore Immunology NetworkChun Kiat Lee - National University Health SystemYuguo Li - University of Hong KongAlejandra Nava Ruiz - Hospital de EspecialidadesCarlos Francisco Santillan-Salas - Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño-San BorjaLinsey C Marr - Virginia Tech
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Indoor air, Vol.31(6), pp.2281-2295
- DOI
- 10.1111/ina.12876
- PMID
- 34138487
- NLM abbreviation
- Indoor Air
- ISSN
- 0905-6947
- eISSN
- 1600-0668
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 11/2021
- Academic Unit
- Occupational and Environmental Health
- Record Identifier
- 9984787257802771
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