Hot news: only 1/4th of year ‘comfortable’,rest unbearable,says study

What this means is what Delhiites experience every other day: more than two-third of the year is either too hot,too cold or too humid.

According to the research,the city,broadly speaking,has three seasons: summer,winter and monsoons,and the comfort zone was determined using what experts call the “heat index” and the “wind chill” factors.

So what are these factors? Heat index is defined as heat that body feels at a particular time of the day,and wind chill is used to define temperatures at or below 10 degrees Celsius with wind speed over 3 miles per hour. And what do they mean? Heat index,the researchers explain,determines the degree of heat in summers,while wind chill decides the state of discomfort in the winters.

‘Monsoon’s the worst’
According to the study,monsoon fared the worst in this test — only 5 per cent of rainy seasons fall in the “comfort zone”. Summer months are only slightly better: 9 per cent of the ‘happy hours’ come in these scorching months. Not unexpectedly,the Delhi winter,despite its nip for a few days fares the best in the “comfortable days” test.

The team calculated the comfort timing by concluding that people are most comfortable when the temperature is between 15 degrees and 25 degrees Celsius — a temperature rarely seen in the city,as per the study.

“The concept of comfort index is most relevant to people who spend most of the day outdoors,” Dr Mohan said. “The magnitude of heat and cold vary from year to year,and the research result only gives a broad idea of the comfort zone.”

The report first appeared in Science Reporter magazine published by the National Institute of Science Communications and Information Resources.

Studying the contrast
* Monsoons are most uncomfortable due to heat and humidity
* Winters are the most enjoyable time in Delhi
* Only 9% days in the summer months are “comfortable”
* Research was carried out using Met data obtained from the Watchdog Weather station at IIT-Delhi