Cold stress in Canada. A human climatic classification

The study presents a climatic classification based on energy exchanges between man and the surrounding atmosphere. Variables that affect man's heat balance are included in a scheme that produces a single value describing the insulation requirements for maintenance of thermal equilibrium in familiar terms. The approach allows for the interpretation of a computed clo value, derived from standard meteorological data, as a unitary index of the body-environment energy flux. Hourly values were computed using data from 77 meteorological stations across Canada for the months September to April for a 10 year period. Seasonal maps are presented illustrating a marked zonal character and the thermal conditions both for "day-time" and "night-time" hours. The scheme enables classification of climates in quantitative terms with meaningful implications as regards man's behavioural response to climate.