Evaluating the thermal comfort of humans by RayMan model in Lake Urmia Basin, Iran

Tourism is one of the largest economic sectors globally. It is a climate sensitive sector, with climate being one of the most important attributes for a destination. In order to know that a region's climate what extent is suitable to the given tourism activities, the tourism climate potential must be determined. This study aims to illustrate observed the tourism climate potential of Lake Urmia Basin during 1988-2012, by using physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), the predicted mean vote (PMV) and standard effective temperature (SET). The RayMan model was used to calculate the indices PET, PMV and SET. The analysis is based on the monthly measured datasets of 8 synoptic stations. Results demonstrate that according to PET and PMV, July and August are the best months for tourists in terms of thermal comfort in Lake Urmia Basin. Also, June and September have Slight cold stress and provide acceptable conditions for tourists. In SET, the thermal perceptions in no month are comfortable. But July and August have Slight cold stress and provide acceptable conditions for tourists.