All sources

Data sources

• Open
  Open-Meteo Historical Weather API
  Hourly temperature at 2m, relative humidity, wind speed. ERA5 model (Copernicus / ECMWF). Coordinates: 18.0858°N, −15.9785°W. Period: 2019–2025. License: CC BY 4.0.
  open-meteo.com
• Open
  ILO (2019), Working on a Warmer Planet
  International Labour Organization report on the impact of heat stress on global productivity. Contains work capacity curves by metabolic intensity level, derived from ISO 7243. Open access (PDF on ilo.org).
• Standard
  ISO 7243:2017 — Heat stress assessment
  International standard for evaluating heat stress in the workplace. Defines WBGT thresholds by metabolic activity level (light, moderate, heavy). Paid access (iso.org), but curves are reproduced in the ILO report.
• Official
  JICA (2018), Nouakchott Urban Master Plan — Table I-14
  Inventory of commercial spaces in Nouakchott: 94,296 units (shops, workshops, offices, services). The most recent and comprehensive source on the city's commercial fabric.
  openjicareport.jica.go.jp
• Official
  SOMELEC — Professional tariff schedule
  Rate of 5.903 MRU/kWh for professional customers. This is the effective rate, not the subsidized residential rate.
• Official
  ILO ILOSTAT (2022) — Mauritania minimum wage
  Minimum wage (SMIG): 3,000 MRU/month. Used as the base unit for three wage scenarios (1.0×, 1.4×, 1.8× SMIG).

Reference sources

• Context
  World Bank — Mauritania profile
  Macroeconomic data, GDP, urban population. Used to contextualize orders of magnitude ($73M vs. national GDP).
• Context
  ONS Mauritania — Census and employment surveys
  Nouakchott's working population, urbanization rate, formal/informal employment structure. Used to validate the 120,000 exposed worker estimate.
• Context
  AfDB — Desert-to-Power Roadmap Mauritania (2020)
  SOMELEC installed capacity (~530 MW), energy mix (71% thermal), demand growth (6–7% per year). Grid context.
  afdb.org
• Context
  Climatescope 2022 — Mauritania
  Peak demand (~200 MW), available capacity (~450 MW), electricity access rate (~55%). Grid context.
  global-climatescope.org
• Method
  Liljegren et al. (2008)
  Simplified formula for temperature/humidity → WBGT conversion. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.

Declared local knowledge

Some assumptions don't come from databases but from direct observation. We declare them as such — these are stated parameters, not verifiable measurements.

• Declared
  AC penetration rate: 1 in 3
  There are no official statistics on commercial AC penetration in Nouakchott. The central estimate of 1 in 3 is a local observation, consistent with the commercial fabric. We also test 1/5 (conservative) and 1/2 (high).
• Declared
  120,000 exposed workers
  Central estimate. Nouakchott's working population exceeds 300,000, but we exclude those in air-conditioned offices, government, and formal service sectors.
• Declared
  Air conditioning as a class marker
  Field observation. AC in Nouakchott divides the economy in two: one that runs year-round, and one that stops when it gets too hot. This framing is central to the project.
• Declared
  Power outages during heat peaks
  Power cuts are frequent in Nouakchott and concentrate during peak demand — the hottest months. There is no public SOMELEC outage registry. Declared as context, corroborated by press coverage.

Reproducibility

The entire codebase — data pipeline, calculation scripts, visualizations, and the site itself — is available on GitHub. Anyone can reproduce the analysis from scratch with an internet connection and Python 3.

If you find an error, a questionable assumption, or a better data source, open an issue on the repository. This work is open precisely to be challenged and improved.