Climate change will make increasing people less comfortable: Insights from the weather preference index

Climatic comfort profoundly influences human health and overall quality of life. In the context of global climate change, understanding future trends in climatic comfort is crucial for addressing climate challenges and advancing global sustainable development. This study assessed the impacts of future climate change on global climatic comfort using the Weather Preference Index (WPI). The results indicated that climatic comfort will exhibit a worsening trend from 2020 to 2100, with the WPI decreasing from 2.03 in 2020 to 1.85 (1.61-1.95) by 2100. The primary driver of this decline was the increase in summer daily maximum temperature. Consequently, the global population exposed to worsening climatic comfort is expected to grow from 488 million historically to 3685 million in the future, marking a 6.6-fold increase. Urban populations will see a 5.6-fold growth, while rural populations will experience a more pronounced increase of 8.1-fold. Furthermore, the transition from a relatively optimistic to an extreme emissions scenario (SSP1-2.6 to SSP5-8.5) will exacerbate climatic discomfort, exposing even more populations to worsening climatic comfort. These findings underscore the urgent need for global policy intervention, advocating for integrated climate adaptation and mitigation strategies to effectively counteract the worsening climatic comfort and enhance the resilience of human settlements.