Microclimate, human heat stress, and skin burn risks in residential backyards

The research questions of this study were: i) Do backyards of different sizes and ground surface characteristics have different microclimate and heat stress in summer? ii) Do backyards dominated by vegetated surfaces have lower mean radiant temperatures compared to yards dominated by non-vegetated surfaces (artificial turf, mulch, and timber decking) under hot weather conditions? iii) Do non-vegetated surfaces (artificial turf, mulch, and timber decking) in backyards pose a risk of skin burns under hot weather conditions? "Backyards_microclimate.csv"This file contains continuous microclimate measurements at the backyards of six residential properties in a master-planned estate in Donnybrook, Victoria, Australia. The microclimate measurements included air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and black globe temperature at 1.1 m above ground surface. These four variables were measured every 10 s and the 5-minute averages were logged. Mean radiant temeprature and Universal Thermal Climate Index were calculated from the four variables. The measurements were conducted for 28 days in summer (2024-02-20 to 2024-03-18)."Backyards_MRT_Tsfc.csv"This file contains short-term (10 min) measurements at the backyards of four residential properties in the same estate. The measurements included shortwave and longwave radiant fluxes from the three directions (ground, lateral, and sky) at 1.5 m above ground surface. Ground surface temperatures were also measured. These variables were measured every 10 s and the 1-minute averages were logged. The radiant fluxes were used to calculate their individual contributions to mean radiant temperatures. The measurements were conducted on two hot sunny afternoons on 2024-02-04 and 2024-02-11.Contact person: Dr Paul Cheung ([e-mail])