How did Terjung’s climate classification measure human comfort?

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World map with continents shaded in colors representing climate zones, from warm reds and yellows near the equator to cool blues and whites at the poles. — Climate Even in our warming world, there will be some chilly evenings.

Terjung’s 1966 climate classification was specifically designed to evaluate how atmospheric conditions affect human comfort, moving beyond vegetation-based models to provide a tool for fields like tourism, housing, and medical geography.1

The classification measures human comfort using four physiologically relevant parameters: temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. These are utilized through two primary indices:1

Comfort Index: This combines temperature and relative humidity to categorize atmospheric conditions into a spectrum of human perception, ranging from extremely hot and oppressive to comfortable, cold, and ultra cold.1
Wind Effect Index: This combines temperature, wind speed, and solar radiation to express the net impact of wind chill—the cooling power of wind on exposed surfaces—alongside the heat added to the human body by solar radiation.1

By combining these indices across different seasons, the system provides a comprehensive analysis of how humans experience climates in various geographic regions throughout the year.1