Monitoring and moderating extreme indoor temperatures in low-income urban communities

Abstract Climate change presents significant threats to human health, especially for low-income urban communities in the Global South. Despite numerous studies of heat stress, surprisingly little is known about temperatures actually encountered by people their homes, or benefits affordable adaptations. This paper examines indoor air temperature measurements gathered from 47 living rooms within eight Accra and Tamale, Ghana. Using multiple indices a tiered analysis, we evaluate variations linked roof type, ceiling insulation, presence fans, tree shade, different housing types locations. Our data reveal range 22.4 °C 45.9 Accra, 22.2 43.0 Tamale. dummy regression find that shade reduces number very hot days (>40 °C) nights (>30 12 15 d per year, respectively. Building materials also strongly moderate but opposing ways: with traditional mud walls thatch roofs are on average 4.5 cooler than concrete block houses uninsulated metal during day 1.5 warmer at night; insulation 6.9 1.4 night. We conclude sub-daily necessary reporting extreme temperatures, trade-offs between minimum maximum require interventions be assessed carefully before attempting counter inside homes.