In recent years, there has been a frequent occurrence of extremely cold conditions which has had a serious impact on the life of residents of buildings in various locations around the world. However, there have only been a very limited number of studies on the effects of residential area building layout on the winter wind environments, which led to a lack of quantitative guidance for residential area planning in severely cold regions. This study aims to reveal the relationship between (1) the residential areas’ building density, floor area ratio, wind projection angle, average building height, and relative position of high-rise buildings, and; (2) the mean wind velocity ratio at pedestrian level in severe cold regions. In this study, the pedestrian-level outdoor wind environments in 24 typical residential areas of Harbin, China, are simulated using ENVI-met software. The results show that the relative position of high-rise buildings in multi-high-level mixed residential areas has little influence on the mean wind velocity ratio, and the maximum difference is 0.04. The factors of building layout have little influence on the mean wind velocity ratio of multistory residential areas. However, a significant linear correlation exists between the mean wind velocity ratio of high-rise residential areas and both the building density and wind projection angle. The prediction model of the mean pedestrian-level wind velocity ratio was then established.

Greater attention is currently being paid to the relationship between indoor environment and childhood allergies, however, the lack of reliable data and the disparity among different areas hinders reliable assessment of the relationship. This study focuses on the effect of indoor pollution on Chinese schoolchildren and the relationship between specific household and health problems suffered. The epidemiological questionnaire survey and the field measurement of the indoor thermal environment and primary air pollutants including CO₂, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), chemical pollutants and fungi were performed in six Chinese cities. A total of 912 questionnaires were eligible for statistical analyses and sixty houses with schoolchildren aged 9–12 were selected for field investigation. Compared with Chinese national standards, inappropriate indoor relative humidity (70%), CO₂ concentration exceeding 1000 ppm and high PM_2.5 levels were found in some monitored houses. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) were the most frequently detected semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in house dust. Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Penicillium were detected in both indoor air and house dust. This study indicates that a thermal environment with CO₂ exceeding 1000 ppm, DEHP and DBP exceeding 1000 μg/g, and high level of PM_2.5, Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Penicillium increases the risk of children’s allergies.

Heat fluxes have been recognized as determinant regarding the river effect on microclimate. The relationship between rivers and the atmosphere is particularly significant for heat fluxes and varies with the meteorology and hydrology. In this study, based on annual observation data from the Songhua River Basin (Harbin, China), a regression and a stochastic model were used to analyze the relationship of the atmosphere-river daily maximum temperatures and evaluate the heat fluxes. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the river temperature was 2.21°C with the regression method, improving to 0.83°C with the stochastic model. The net shortwave radiation flux was the dominant heat gain component, while the latent heat flux accounted for the main heat loss. The sensible heat flux represented the smallest contribution. The river thermal effect in summer mainly resulted from the latent heat exchange, while the effect of the sensible heat exchange tended to be stronger in spring and autumn.