Microscale heat stress observations in Ghent

This dataset is part of the scientific paper:

Hellebosch, I., S. Top, S. Takacs, K. D. Ridder, and S. Caluwaerts, 2025: Monitoring Microscale Heat Stress Patterns in a Medium-Dense Urban Area with Green Spaces. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 64, 1867–1895, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-24-0243.1.

The dataset contains observational data collected during a heat stress measurement campaign at the university campus Sterre in the urban fringe of Ghent during the summer of 2023.

The campaign consists of a device-intercomparison measurement with all devices close to each other from 27 May to 1 June 2023 and the actual measurement campaign with the devices in various micro-environments during a heat wave from 9 June to 15 June 2023. The monitoring devices consist of weather stations (Campbell, HOBO, and VLINDER(02)) and consumer-grade portable devices (AT-HTS01, abbreviated with A and the corresponding device number).

The measurement frequency varies from 2.5 s to 5 min, however, all data are aggregated to 15-minute averages. Basic quality control is conducted, during which inappropriate repetitive data and extreme outliers are removed. Gaps were introduced when the devices were known to malfunction, such as when they were covered for protection against rainfall, had fallen, or lacked electricity for active ventilation.

An explanation of each parameter used in the datasets can be found below:

• datetime: The date and time in the format yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss+02:00 (UTC+2, local time Belgian summer).
• Tap: Air temperature measured in a passively ventilated radiation shield (°C).
• Taa: Air temperature measured in an actively ventilated radiation shield (°C).
• Tg: Globe temperature (°C).
• RH: Relative humidity (%).
• V: Horizontal wind speed (m/s).
• SWR: Shortwave radiation (W/m2).
• P: Surface pressure (Pa).
• Tw_by_device: Wet bulb temperature given by the measurement device (°C).
• WBGT_by_device: Wet bulb globe temperature given by the measurement device (°C).
• x, y: Locationcoordinates (EPSG31370).