A Global Investigation of Outdoor Climatic Comfort

In the era of climate crisis, the search for places that offer natural climatic comfort has become a crucial element in understanding the interaction between the environment and the overall quality of human life. Although indoor artificial climate control can provide comfort, it has significant environmental impacts and fosters a more artificial human experience. This study explores how climatic comfort varies worldwide, with a particular focus on outdoor environments where natural atmospheric factors directly influence human perception of comfort. We conducted a global survey, integrated with spatial climate databases, to model outdoor climatic comfort based on temperature, humidity, and natural lighting. The most comfortable locations were identified in tropical/equatorial regions at relatively high elevations. We discuss the results of the current global population distribution, along with past, present, and future demographic scenarios, thereby revealing a critical situation for countries in the Sahel and Middle Eastern deserts.