Semantic variation in expression of heat stress during subjective field surveys and remedial actions in residences of composite climate

Heat stress is often expressed as a metaphor implicitly relating the physiological thermal state and personal experience, which can be effectively captured by qualitative surveys. Embedding social context into comfort models is hence essential to ensure thermal resilience. This study evaluates the semantics of heat stress perception through qualitative interviews of residents across urban, semi-urban and rural locations in the humid subtropical region. The study formulates and tests the hypothesis that the expression of heat stress is influenced by autobiographical markers, the subject’s impression of building characteristics and the availability of coping mechanisms. Variations in the expression of thermal experience across urban and rural contexts reveal that perceptions of heat stress are socially and environmentally mediated, shaped by local reference markers and differing tolerances to discomfort. The perception of the sufficiency of coping mechanisms and thermal adaptation potential varied between urban and rural locations. These latent variables are essential for limiting inherent biases associated with self-reported heat stress responses. The findings highlight the need for including such implicit factors in field surveys for context-specific calibration of adaptive thermal comfort models.Urban residents were more expressive about the thermal experience during heat stress than rural residents.Female residents were more expressive about their heat stress experience.Autobiographical markers are strongly associated with thermal experience during heat stress.Subjects’ impression of building characteristics and coping mechanisms is relative to the subjects’ thermal experience.