Research Data Leeds Repository

Citation

Peterson, Eric L. (2026) Where air-conditioning is essential - raising a red flag ten times - weather station analysis of limits for passive cooling. University of Leeds. [Dataset] https://doi.org/10.5518/1846

Dataset description

This dataset supports the study"Where air-conditioning is essential: weather station analysis of limits for passive cooling". It contains derived heat-stress metrics for 16,582 meteorological stations based on NOAA Global Summary of the Day (GSOD) observations and population-weighted analysis using gridded population datasets. Variables include annual frequencies of shaded Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGTs) exceedances above white-flag (≥25.6°C) and yellow-flag (≥29.5°C) thresholds, together with estimates for hotter-than-normal years and resulting risk classifications. The repository also includes supporting code used to identify and map "green-amber" locations where passive cooling may remain viable, alongside station classifications used to generate published figures. The dataset enables replication of global assessments of heat-stress exposure, evaluation of locations approaching practical limits of passive cooling, and investigation of climate adaptation strategies, resilience, and potential requirements for access to active cooling.

Keywords:	Heat Adaptation Policy; Heat Stress Assessment; Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT); Passive Cooling Strategies; Resilient Cooling Systems
Subjects:	F000 - Physical sciences > F700 - Science of aquatic & terrestrial environments > F760 - Climatology > F764 - Climate & climate change F000 - Physical sciences > F700 - Science of aquatic & terrestrial environments > F760 - Climatology > F761 - Meteorology K000 - Architecture, building & planning > K200 - Building > K210 - Building technology B000 - Subjects allied to medicine > B900 - Others in subjects allied to medicine > B910 - Environmental health H000 - Engineering > H200 - Civil engineering > H220 - Environmental engineering
Divisions:	Faculty of Biological Sciences > School of Biology
License:	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Date deposited:	09 Oct 2026 09:04
URI:	https://archive.researchdata.leeds.ac.uk/id/eprint/1644
Additional details Additional details Creators or authors: Creators ORCID Other ID Email Primary affiliation Primary affiliation ID Primary affiliation ID type Secondary affiliation Secondary affiliation ID Secondary affiliation ID type Peterson, Eric L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7504-7669 University of Leeds https://ror.org/024mrxd33 ror Type of data: Dataset Publication date: 2026 Resource language: English Metadata language: English Publisher: University of Leeds Contact email: e.peterson@leeds.ac.uk Last Modified: 09 Oct 2026 09:17

Files

Documentation

ReadMe [5kB] ReadMe [5kB] ReadMe [5kB] Security: Anyone File name: readme.txt Content type: Documentation Description: ReadMe Mime-Type: text/plain License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 5kB

Where air-conditioning is essential - weather station analysis of limits for passive cooling [1MB] Where air-conditioning is essential - weather station analysis of limits for passive cooling [1MB] Where air-conditioning is essential - weather station analysis of limits for passive cooling [1MB] Security: Anyone File name: Peterson26March2026.pdf Content type: Documentation Description: CIBSE Technical Symposium Loughborough 2026. Session 13: Overheating and Health Risk in a Hotter Climate: Weather Data, Cooling and Resiliance. Where air conditioning is essential - Raising a red flag ten times. Mime-Type: application/pdf License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 1MB

CIBSE Technical Symposium 2026 Session 13 slides by Peterson [2MB] CIBSE Technical Symposium 2026 Session 13 slides by Peterson [2MB] CIBSE Technical Symposium 2026 Session 13 slides by Peterson [2MB] Security: Anyone File name: MS119_Where_air_conditioning_is_essential_ELPeterson_26March2026.pdf Content type: Documentation Description: Where air-conditioning is essential – Raising a red flag ten times – Weather station analysis of limits for passive cooling (paper 119) Mime-Type: application/pdf License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 2MB

Data

green-amber stations (1987-2020) [235kB] green-amber stations (1987-2020) [235kB] green-amber stations (1987-2020) [235kB] Security: Anyone File name: green_amber.csv Content type: Data Description: The MATLAB script "green_amber.m" identified the green-amber subset of the previous (Peterson 2022) global analysis (n = 16,582 stations) downloaded at https://doi.org/10.5518/967 using RESULTSout.csv, RESULTSrates.csv, and geography.csv as input. Mime-Type: text/csv License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 235kB

Global map [566kB] Global map [566kB] Global map [566kB] Security: Anyone File name: Globe_28Nov2025.png Content type: Data Description: Figure 1 – Global map Mime-Type: image/png License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 566kB

Australia & New Zealand [158kB] Australia & New Zealand [158kB] Australia & New Zealand [158kB] Security: Anyone File name: ANZ_28Nov2025.png Content type: Data Description: Figure 2 – Australia & New Zealand Mime-Type: image/png License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 158kB

Mediterranean [458kB] Mediterranean [458kB] Mediterranean [458kB] Security: Anyone File name: Med_28Nov2025.png Content type: Data Description: Figure 3 – Mediterranean Mime-Type: image/png License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 458kB

East Asia [246kB] East Asia [246kB] East Asia [246kB] Security: Anyone File name: EAsia_28Nov2025.png Content type: Data Description: Figure 4 – East Asia Mime-Type: image/png License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 246kB

Middle East [391kB] Middle East [391kB] Middle East [391kB] Security: Anyone File name: MidE_28Nov2025.png Content type: Data Description: extra map - Middle East Mime-Type: image/png License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 391kB

USA & Canada [365kB] USA & Canada [365kB] USA & Canada [365kB] Security: Anyone File name: USA_28Nov2025.png Content type: Data Description: extra map - USA Mime-Type: image/png License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 365kB

green-amber workbook [32MB] green-amber workbook [32MB] green-amber workbook [32MB] Security: Anyone File name: green_amber.xlsx Content type: Data Description: green-amber subset of Peterson 2022 (n=16582 records) see https://doi.org/10.5518/967. Compares 1987-2020 & 1977-2024 GSOD analysis (NOAA/NCEI). Shows 21 of 4696 stations in Peterson 2022 no longer served by GSOD. Used for tables & graphics in the paper Mime-Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) File size: 32MB

Program

green_amber.m [31kB] green_amber.m [31kB] green_amber.m [31kB] Security: Anyone File name: green_amber.m Content type: Program Description: MATLAB script to select green-amber stations and generate graphics Mime-Type: application/vnd.wolfram.mathematica.package License: MIT License File size: 31kB