Outdoor thermal comfort of urban river landscape belt in China's cold region: A case study of Xi'an

The outdoor thermal sensation and comfort questionnaires was conducted on the River Ba landscape belt of Xi'an city located in the cold region of China. The survey included objective micrometeorological measurements and subjective questionnaire surveys in winter, summer and spring. The study contrasted the outdoor thermal comfort of the river landscape belt in different seasons in cold region. Physiological equivalent temperature (PET) was used as a thermal comfort index to quantitatively analyze the thermal comfort range of urban river in Xi'an. The 80% thermal acceptable PET range in Xi'an was 14.3 °C–19.9 °C in winter, 17.3 °C–24.6 °C in spring, and 17.6 °C–31.8 °C in summer. During winter, spring, and summer, the neutral PET was 21.7 °C, 20.5 °C, and 18.9 °C, respectively. Due to seasonal adaptation, “slightly warm” in spring and winter was considered the most comfortable thermal sensation, while “neutral to cool” was regarded as the most comfortable in summer. The importance of thermal experience and psychological adaptation was found, thermal sensation voting was lower in early spring than in winter for the same PET, and the locals were acceptable even if not within the comfort PET range.