Fig. 2

Study area and monitoring stations layout. (a) Location of Zahedan city in Iran (29° 28’ N, 60° 51’ E), (b) Six thermal comfort monitoring stations (S0–S5) representing different urban microclimate interventions at University of Sistan and Baluchestan: S0-Reference (open exposure, baseline), S1-Concrete gazebo (no vegetation), S2-Gazebo with moderate vegetation cover, S3-Traditional four-sided pavilion (brick/mud construction), S4-Gazebo with full tree shade (dense pine canopy), S5-Natural tree shade only (no structure). Station labels (S0–S5) are enlarged and highlighted with white background boxes for enhanced visibility. Arrows indicate precise measurement locations. Scale bar: 50m. All measurements conducted at 1.5m height following CIBSE (2006) standards¹³.