Assessing Minimum, Maximum Temperature and Relative Humidity as Factors of Human Comfort of The Outdoor Environment in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the minimum and maximum temperature and relative humidity as factors of human comfort of the outdoor environment in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The study made use of meteorological data including minimum and maximum temperature, and relative humidity from 1985 to 2021 obtained from NiMet. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. Results showed that both minimum and maximum temperatures in Port Harcourt increased with increasing time while the monthly mean minimum and maximum temperature decreased from January to December. The total heat index continued to rise at the rate of 0.0329 in Port Harcourt and the mean total heat index was 78.78. The study can be concluded that the minimum and maximum temperature, relative humidity and heat index in Port Harcourt Metropolis from 1985 to 2021 is increasing. It is thus recommended that early warning infrastructure of preparedness should be put in place to checkmate the likely human physiological effect that might ensue due to the rise of the heat index in the recent times.