Thermal comfort in outdoor urban parks of Kathmandu

¹ Graduate School of Environment and Information Studies, Tokyo City University, 3-3-1 Ushikubo-nishi, Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama 224-8551, Japan
² Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Urban parks are an important part of public green spaces and are frequently used by visitors for outdoor recreation and activities. Although Nepal has many urban parks that attract many visitors, the availability of data regarding outdoor thermal comfort remains lacking. This study aims to assess thermal sensation votes, determine the acceptable temperature, and predict the comfortable temperature in an urban park. A thermal comfort survey was conducted in Balaju Baisdhara Park, Kathmandu during summer in May 2025. Microclimatic measurements were taken using digital instruments positioned at a height of 1.1 m above ground level. A total of 307 questionnaire responses were collected during the field survey. The results show that 51.1% of visitors perceived their thermal environment as “slightly hot,” while 41.4% reported feeling “neutral.” Despite the relatively high air temperature (i.e., mean temperature at 29 °C), 41% of respondents indicated their thermal environment as “acceptable”. The maximum acceptable temperature was found to be 28.3°C and comfortable temperature of 26.4°C. These findings can be the benchmark for urban park design.