{"title":"南非约翰内斯堡寒冷月份非正式住宅的非最佳室内温度测量:气候变化的影响","authors":"Tokelo Seabi , Thandi Kapwata , Natasha Naidoo , Caradee Y. Wright , Shalin Bidassey-Manilal","doi":"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101269","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Exposure to non-optimal temperatures is associated with adverse health outcomes. Low-income communities living in informal housing (colloquially called shacks) are vulnerable to the negative health outcomes associated with non-optimal temperatures given the characteristics of their dwellings.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The study aimed to measure wintertime temperatures in shacks in Bekkersdal, West Rand District Municipality (South Africa).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>iButtons were installed in 10 shacks for 13 days to measure temperature at 10-min intervals. Ambient outdoor temperature data were collected for the same period as the dwelling temperature campaign from the nearest automatic weather station operated by the South African Weather Service. A questionnaire was administered to 127 shack residents to determine household socio-demographics (participant age/gender; number living in dwelling; and length of stay in dwelling) and dwelling characteristics (type of wall/floor; presence/absence of insulation; energy used for heating).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Indoor temperatures ranged between 3 °C–33 °C (mean: 13 °C, median 12 °C). Daily mean indoor temperatures for all shacks combined were below the World Health Organization threshold for minimum indoor temperature of 18 °C for 94 % of the study duration. Indoor temperature increased as outdoor temperatures increased and this association was statistically significant (R = 0.98, p < 0.001). The majority of shacks (n = 108, 85 %) were made from corrugated iron sheeting and had no insulation hence the strong correlation between indoor and outdoor temperatures.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The poor insulation of shacks exposes residents to cold outdoor temperatures. Thus, people living in shacks are vulnerable to the adverse health effects associated with extreme cold. Guidance on how to create thermally efficient shacks with insulation is recommended as a temporary solution. However, the main goal should be to replace shacks with adequate formal, low-cost housing, which the government should provide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54269,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Development","volume":"56 ","pages":"Article 101269"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Non-optimal indoor temperatures measured in informal dwellings during cold months in Johannesburg, South Africa: implications in a changing climate\",\"authors\":\"Tokelo Seabi , Thandi Kapwata , Natasha Naidoo , Caradee Y. Wright , Shalin Bidassey-Manilal\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101269\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Exposure to non-optimal temperatures is associated with adverse health outcomes. Low-income communities living in informal housing (colloquially called shacks) are vulnerable to the negative health outcomes associated with non-optimal temperatures given the characteristics of their dwellings.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The study aimed to measure wintertime temperatures in shacks in Bekkersdal, West Rand District Municipality (South Africa).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>iButtons were installed in 10 shacks for 13 days to measure temperature at 10-min intervals. Ambient outdoor temperature data were collected for the same period as the dwelling temperature campaign from the nearest automatic weather station operated by the South African Weather Service. A questionnaire was administered to 127 shack residents to determine household socio-demographics (participant age/gender; number living in dwelling; and length of stay in dwelling) and dwelling characteristics (type of wall/floor; presence/absence of insulation; energy used for heating).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Indoor temperatures ranged between 3 °C–33 °C (mean: 13 °C, median 12 °C). Daily mean indoor temperatures for all shacks combined were below the World Health Organization threshold for minimum indoor temperature of 18 °C for 94 % of the study duration. Indoor temperature increased as outdoor temperatures increased and this association was statistically significant (R = 0.98, p < 0.001). The majority of shacks (n = 108, 85 %) were made from corrugated iron sheeting and had no insulation hence the strong correlation between indoor and outdoor temperatures.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The poor insulation of shacks exposes residents to cold outdoor temperatures. Thus, people living in shacks are vulnerable to the adverse health effects associated with extreme cold. Guidance on how to create thermally efficient shacks with insulation is recommended as a temporary solution. However, the main goal should be to replace shacks with adequate formal, low-cost housing, which the government should provide.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":54269,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Environmental Development\",\"volume\":\"56 \",\"pages\":\"Article 101269\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":4.7000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-06-07\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Environmental Development\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"93\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211464525001356\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"环境科学与生态学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Development","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211464525001356","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
Non-optimal indoor temperatures measured in informal dwellings during cold months in Johannesburg, South Africa: implications in a changing climate
Background
Exposure to non-optimal temperatures is associated with adverse health outcomes. Low-income communities living in informal housing (colloquially called shacks) are vulnerable to the negative health outcomes associated with non-optimal temperatures given the characteristics of their dwellings.
Objective
The study aimed to measure wintertime temperatures in shacks in Bekkersdal, West Rand District Municipality (South Africa).
Methods
iButtons were installed in 10 shacks for 13 days to measure temperature at 10-min intervals. Ambient outdoor temperature data were collected for the same period as the dwelling temperature campaign from the nearest automatic weather station operated by the South African Weather Service. A questionnaire was administered to 127 shack residents to determine household socio-demographics (participant age/gender; number living in dwelling; and length of stay in dwelling) and dwelling characteristics (type of wall/floor; presence/absence of insulation; energy used for heating).
Results
Indoor temperatures ranged between 3 °C–33 °C (mean: 13 °C, median 12 °C). Daily mean indoor temperatures for all shacks combined were below the World Health Organization threshold for minimum indoor temperature of 18 °C for 94 % of the study duration. Indoor temperature increased as outdoor temperatures increased and this association was statistically significant (R = 0.98, p < 0.001). The majority of shacks (n = 108, 85 %) were made from corrugated iron sheeting and had no insulation hence the strong correlation between indoor and outdoor temperatures.
Conclusions
The poor insulation of shacks exposes residents to cold outdoor temperatures. Thus, people living in shacks are vulnerable to the adverse health effects associated with extreme cold. Guidance on how to create thermally efficient shacks with insulation is recommended as a temporary solution. However, the main goal should be to replace shacks with adequate formal, low-cost housing, which the government should provide.
期刊介绍:
Environmental Development provides a future oriented, pro-active, authoritative source of information and learning for researchers, postgraduate students, policymakers, and managers, and bridges the gap between fundamental research and the application in management and policy practices. It stimulates the exchange and coupling of traditional scientific knowledge on the environment, with the experiential knowledge among decision makers and other stakeholders and also connects natural sciences and social and behavioral sciences. Environmental Development includes and promotes scientific work from the non-western world, and also strengthens the collaboration between the developed and developing world. Further it links environmental research to broader issues of economic and social-cultural developments, and is intended to shorten the delays between research and publication, while ensuring thorough peer review. Environmental Development also creates a forum for transnational communication, discussion and global action.
Environmental Development is open to a broad range of disciplines and authors. The journal welcomes, in particular, contributions from a younger generation of researchers, and papers expanding the frontiers of environmental sciences, pointing at new directions and innovative answers.
All submissions to Environmental Development are reviewed using the general criteria of quality, originality, precision, importance of topic and insights, clarity of exposition, which are in keeping with the journal''s aims and scope.