Assessment of urban thermal comfort of residents and its coping strategies in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

Urbanization has driven rise in temperature and variation in cities around the world. The study assesses the thermal comfort of residents in Abuja. The study uses questionnaires administration to assess the thermal perception of residents which was compared to universal thermal comfort index (UTCI) and GIS to determine the heat stress spot within the study area. The result shows that residents within the FCC, Gwagwalada and Kubwa falls experience moderate heat stress environment with recorded mean temperature of 31.4°C, 31.7°C and 31.1°C. The study also reveals that 95.8% of residents in, Kubwa (93.9%) and FCC (89.7%) uses wind shades/shades, air conditioning and fan to regulate their thermal comfort. The study recommends that biophilic design should be adopted by the FCTA administration to help mitigate LST and improve the livability of the resident of the FCT.