Cold and heat impact on human comfort in the Bahía Blanca Estuary Harbours (Argentina)

Abstract

The aim of the present work was to study the human comfort at working hours related to the number of persons attended in the main hospital wards in two harbours located on the north coast of the Bahía Blanca estuary. For this purpose, the wind chill and humidex indexes were calculated and compared. Ingeniero White harbour is situated at the head of the estuary while Rosales port is located at its mouth. Meteorological data from both harbours was measured during the period 1999-2001. The results show that wind chill index is an average 2.9º C below the actual mean temperature in winter (9.5ºC). The humidex is 3º C above the actual mean temperature in summer (23.9ºC). The greatest discomfort is experienced from noon to night during this season. No significant thermal differences were observed between the inner and outer region of the Bahía Blanca estuary. However, enough evidence has been found to prove that the winter and summer indexes may be related to workers' health.