Evaluating the Effectiveness of Passive Cooling Strategies in Reducing Heat-Related Health Risks in Nigeria's Tropical Climate

ADEOSUN; Rasheed. Olawale; OGIDAN; Oladapo. Ibukun; OGUNSANWO; Abayomi. Olusegun

doi:10.56201/wjimt.v10.no3.2026.pg90.98

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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Passive Cooling Strategies in Reducing Heat-Related Health Risks in Nigeria's Tropical Climate

ADEOSUN, Rasheed. Olawale, OGIDAN, Oladapo. Ibukun, and OGUNSANWO, Abayomi. Olusegun

Abstract

Researchers evaluated whether passive cooling can help reduce health risks arising from heat stress and also enhance people’s thermal comfort in Lagos, Nigeria. A quantitative research design was adopted to assess the impact of four passive cooling techniques – reflective surfaces, shading, night flushing, and natural convection on indoor temperature and human health. A total of 60 residential buildings were monitored using Digital Temperatures Sensors and data was collected from 400 respondents using structured questionnaires. The results showed that buildings with passive cooling strategies had a mean indoor temperature of 28.1–30.2oC or lower than those without interventions, which had an overall temperature of 32.5oC. Regression analysis finds that reflective surfaces (β = −0.38, p < 0.01) and shading (β = −0.33, p < 0.01) have the largest impact on reducing heat exposure and improving levels of comfort. With the combination of strategies explained 67% of the variance in health outcomes that were heat-related. According to the respondents living in passively cooled surroundings, they are less prone to heat symptoms such as fatigue and dizziness. Moreover, these respondents rated their thermal comfort high (mean = 4.4) when compared to people living in non-cooled buildings (mean = 2.7). The results support previous studies showing that passive cooling solutions can greatly benefit human health and reduce environmental impact in tropical areas. The study concludes that the incorporation of passive cooling techniques in building design and city planning can offer an affordable and sustainable measure for tackling thermal stress in the growing cities of Nigeria, as well as enhancing public health resilience.

Keywords

Heat-related health risksNatural convectionNight flushingPassive coolingReflective surfacesShadingThermal comfort.

References

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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Passive Cooling Strategies in Reducing Heat-Related Health Risks in Nigeria's Tropical Climate

Abstract

Keywords

References

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