INTRODUCTION TO CLIMATOLOGY

& IT’S EFFECT ON SHELTER

COMPILED BY
Mathi D Vanan
Sahil Singh
What is Climatology?
 What is Climatology?
 Climatology is described as the scientific study of
climate and the behavior of the atmosphere.
 It is compounded of two Greek words,
KLIMA+LOGOS; ‘klima’ – slope of the earth , and
‘logos’ – study.
 It is the science that seeks to describe and
explained the nature of climate , How it differs
from place to place.
The term climatology is correctly
applied to study of following five
growing fields
Climatological record.
Theory of climate
Energy and moisture balances of the earth
Study of climate as the environment of living
organisms.
Study of climate as the direct environment of
man
 Weather and climate
 Weather and climate are dynamic features of
our physical environment
 They affect a wide range of human activities
to a greater or lesser degree
 Weather refers to the state of atmosphere at
any given time denoting the short time
variations of atmosphere
 Climate is the accumulation of daily and
seasonal weather events of a given location over
a period of 40-45 years
 In summary therefore,weather deals with
specefic while climate deals with the
generalization of weather events
 The concept of climate includes :-
I. Weather events
II. Consideration of variabilities,
III. Extreme conditions
IV. Probability of frequencies of occurences of given
weather conditons
 Principles and Scope of
Climatology
• The ultimate aim of climatology is to discuss
various climatic elements as well as factors that
control the distribution of climate over the earth
• As it deals with trend of weather it is closely
related to meteorology (study of atmosphere and
its phenomena)
• Climatology has a wide scope and it can be
subdivided either on the bases of topics
emphasised or n the scale of atmospheric
phenomena
 Sub-divisions of climatology
Ayode (2004) identified the six tropical
subdivision of climatology
1. Regional climatology
2. Synoptic climatology
3. Physical climatology
4. Dynamic climatology
5. Applied climatology
6. Historical climatology
 Regional climatology
• It is a description of climates over selected areas
of the earth
• It is also labeled as “Descriptive climatology” for
it is concerned with the identification of
important climatic characterstics
• On the basis of size and extent of the climatic
regions the world is divided into 3 regions :-
1. Micro-climatic regions
2. Macro-climatic regions
3. Meso-climatic regions
 Physical climatology
• It involves investigating the bhaviour of the
weather elements or process in the atmosphere
in terms of physical principles.
• It seeks to explain the factors responsible for
bringing about the temporary and spatial
variations in heat exchange,moisture exchange
and air movement
• Observation of climatic elements as
insolations,duration of sunshine, temperature,air
pressure,precipitation,winds and fog
 Applied climatology
• It is the application of climatological
knowledge and principles to solving problems
facing mankind
• It is concerned with the application of the
climatological knowledge to specific practical
problems
• The practical application of the discoveries
and the techniques to various types of human
activities
Synoptic climatology:- it is the study of the
weather and climates over san area in relation to
the pattern of the pervading atmospheric
circulation
It is thus essentially a new approach to regional
climatology

Dynamic climatology:- it places emphasis on the

atmospheric motions of various scales particularly
the general circulation of the atmosphere

Historical climatology :- it is the study of the

development of climate through time
•Several other subdivisions are recognised in the
literature .
These are :-
1. Agricultural climatology
2. Bio climatology
3. Building climatology
4. Urban climatology
5. Statistical climatology

Agricultural climatology, bio climatology ,building climatology are the

aspects of Applied climatology
Climatology In
Architecture
 since the beginning of time man has been affected by
climate & its influence over the earth.
Before getting into the specific of each climate general
guidelines used by all architects in any
building.
The first humans built shelters & lived in caves to protect
themselves from the weather
elements.
In yearly periods the walls were made of stuccoed brick.
The stuccoed wall are an example of climate-responsive
architecture, or architecture that is
constructed & built with designs that make use of the
surrounding climate & its natural effects.
 Critical issues to be
considered in architectural
design
 Enhanced ‘thermal performance’ through architectural
design.
 Enhanced ‘daylight distribution’ through architectural
design.
 Optimise ‘embodied energy’ through judisious material
use.
 ‘cost effectiveness through:

 Enhanced ‘thermal & daylight’ performance.

 Structural system Optimisation & low cost through
lightweight materials.
Relevant weather factors in
architectural design

Sunshine and heat load

Wind movement or ventilation
Humidity
Precipitation
Natural vegetation
 Sunshine & Heat load
Day lighting or the use of natural light in a
building is one of the fundamental elements
of a climatic design.
It reduces the need for electric lights & improves
the visual qualities of a space
Orientation of houses may maximize or
minimize heat load , also landscaping which
shade trees ,window design.
The openings in a building are a break in its external
thermal envelope: inward & outward energy
transfer is quicker through openings.
Glazed openings constitute a thermal discontinuity
point in a building envelope
It is recommended that many openings be used in the
southern facade & only those openings
be used on the northern facade which are absolutely
essential.
It is better to avoid openings on there eastern &
western facades
 Wind movement or Ventilation
 The use of natural winds to enhance the living
environments is another solution offered by
climatic design.
 Natural or force ventilations is necessary for:
• Fresh air supply into the building
• Increasing, through air movement, rate of perspiration
evaporation from the bodies of those in the building
• Cooling the interior of the building by exchanging
relatively warm hot internal air with cooler outside air
the warmer & lighter indoor air will flow out at the top & the cooler,
denser out- door air air
will flow at the bottom.
Special provision can be made for it in the form of ventilating shafts.
The higher the shaft the
larger the cross-sectional area & the greater the temperature
difference: the greater the
motive force therefore, the more air will be moved.
Some duct arrangements for multistorey buildings, with vertical or
horizontal single or
double duct systems.
The moment of air also accelerates the heat dissipation. i.e, increasing
convective heat loss,
accelerating evaporation.
To be effective the air movement must be directed at the body
surface.
The level of openings at the inlet side must be at low level.
 Buildings and Climate

• Climate varies around the globe and indigenous architecture used to

respond to climate
• 20th century buildings became exclusively dependent on mechanical
systems to heat and cool buildings
• International Style Architecture, characterized by sealed buildings, tried to
create an architectural style that ignored climate
• This has resulted in a proliferation of architecture that does not properly
respond to its climate
• Such buildings now account for between 40% and 70% of energy use in
North America – and this cannot be sustained given Climate Change (GHG)
and fossil fuel shortages
• This lesson will examine how to reconnect issues of local climate and
building design
Environmental Moderator:
A building’s primary function is to
provide shelter from the
elements, as a function of
CLIMATE.
To function as a moderator of the
environment and to satisfy all
other requirements, a building
envelope must provide control of:
1. heat flow
2. air flow
3. movement of water as vapour
and as liquid
4. solar and other radiation
Urban Ecology Centre, Milwaukee
Building envelopes are like balloons…

Rose Planetarium, NYC

Modern building envelopes are like balloons… very thin but their
performance is therefore even more critical!
 Technique vs. Technology
Old stone
buildings relied
on their
massive nature
to withstand
the weather.
New buildings
are comprised
of thinner
layers, that are
individually less
able to
withstand the
elements.
TRADITIONAL METHODS BUILDING SCIENCE
 High Performance Buildings

Greater London Authority, Norman Foster

Channel 4 News, London, Richard Rogers

These buildings also have “thin skins”. But
nowadays, people expect an awful lot MORE
PERFORMANCE from their buildings – as
technological symbols and cultural icons.
Shelter is just not enough.
 Cold Climate
Cathedrals

Buttressing systems in stone allowed

for the enlargement of glazing
systems that were once hindered by
the limitations of the wall – giving
more light and heat to the interior of
cold, draughty cathedrals.
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris
 Hot Climate
Cathedrals:

Gothic cathedrals in hot climates did

not use buttress systems to increase
their window areas as they did not
want more windows to allow heat
into the buildings.
Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence
Traditional hot climate design:
In hot dry (arid)
climates
windows are kept
to a minimum to
prevent the sun
from entering
the building.
Bright stucco
finishes are used
to reflect light
and keep the
environment
bright.
Courtyard buildings:

Courtyards are used in hot arid climates and

work well because sun can warm these spaces
in cooler months. Courtyards do NOT work well
in cold climates because of low winter sun
angles.
…designing for a
cold climate…
Designing for a cold climate
requires a completely
different approach to design
and respect for the weather.
Buildings must be designed
with an environmental
barrier.
Buildings must be more
concerned with their
“heating season” than their
“cooling season”
 Traditional cold climate design:
At this time heating costs were low,
nobody was concerned about CO2
emissions and global warming, so
fossil fuels were burned.

Traditional cold climate design in

Canada took to task the shedding of
snow from roofs and used minimal
windows in the walls to try to keep
heat inside the building.
 The Comfort Zone
The Comfort Zone refers to the range of temperature conditions of air movement,
humidity and exposure to direct sunlight, under which a moderately clothed human
feels “comfortable”.
This will be different for Indoor versus Outdoor conditions.
These will be different for different CLIMATE types.
This will be different for different cultures combined with climate conditions - what are
people used to??

As Architects we use our buildings

to not only create comfortable
indoor environments, but also
pleasing and useful spaces outside
of our buildings.
There exists a RANGE of comfort
that we need to design within.
Passive Bio-climatic Design:
Reassessing the Comfort Zone

Comfort expectations may have

to be reassessed to allow for the
wider “zone” that is characteristic
of buildings that are not
exclusively controlled via
mechanical systems.

Creation of new “buffer spaces”

to make a hierarchy of comfort
levels within buildings.

Require higher occupant

involvement to adjust the
building to modify the
temperature and air flow.

Computer Science Building, York University, Toronto

Microclimate
When we design WITH the specific
local environmental characteristics
in mind, we start to manipulate the
relationship between the climate,
the site and the building to create a
local environment or
MICROCLIMATE around the
building.

This “mini climate” that is created

around the building can decrease
the apparent severity of the climate
(and hence the work the building
must do to make for a comfortable
interior AND exterior environment
around the building) OR, if badly
handled, can increase the severity
of the local climate.
St. Thomas University, Houston
 …this does not belong here…

Basic understanding of the 4 climate design zones tells us that certain building types
obviously do not belong in certain places...

…but there are more aspects to consider...

Site Bio-Configuration
Whatever the FOUND condition of
the site upon which we are to
consider building has a climate
that is not only dependent upon
the general climate of the
REGION, but also, the specific
climate of the site as affected by:
•the surface or surfaces that cover
the ground
•available tree cover, size, height,
biodiversity, species, etc.
•nearness to water
•amount of paving adjacent
•height of adjacent buildings

Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

 Original condition Hot Arid Site Hot Humid Site
The building might be the same but the site/climate/microclimate conditions will drastically
impact the success of the comfort experienced by the occupants.

Temperate Site Cold Site

 Bio-climatic Design: HOT-ARID
Where very high summer temperatures with great
fluctuation predominate with dry conditions
throughout the year. Cooling degrees days greatly
exceed heating degree days.

RULES:
- Solar avoidance : keep DIRECT SOLAR GAIN out of
the building
- avoid daytime ventilation
- promote nighttime flushing with cool evening air
- achieve daylighting by reflectance and use of LIGHT
non-heat absorbing colours Traditional House in Egypt
- create a cooler MICROCLIMATE by using light /
lightweight materials
- respect the DIURNAL CYCLE
- use heavy mass for walls and DO NOT INSULATE
 Bio-climatic Design: HOT-HUMID
Where warm to hot stable conditions predominate
with high humidity throughout the year. Cooling
degrees days greatly exceed heating degree days.

RULES:
- SOLAR AVOIDANCE : large roofs with overhangs that
shade walls and to allow windows open at all times
- PROMOTE VENTILATION
- USE LIGHTWEIGHT MATERIALS that do not hold heat
and that will not promote condensation and
dampness (mold/mildew)
- eliminate basements and concrete
- use STACK EFFECT to ventilate through high spaces
House in Seaside, Florida
- use of COURTYARDS and semi-enclosed outside
spaces
- use WATER FEATURES for cooling
Bio-climatic Design: TEMPERATE
The summers are hot and humid, and the winters
are cold. In much of the region the topography is
generally flat, allowing cold winter winds to come
in form the northwest and cool summer breezes
to flow in from the southwest. The four seasons
are almost equally long.

RULES:
- BALANCE strategies between COLD and HOT-
HUMID
- maximize flexibility in order to be able to modify
the envelope for varying climatic conditions
- understand the natural benefits of SOLAR
IslandWood Residence, Seattle, WA
ANGLES that shade during the warm months and
allow for heating during the cool months
Thank you!!!