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Thermal comfort conditions at microclimate scale and surface urban heat island in a tropical city: A study on João Pessoa city, Brazil

International Journal of Biometeorology volume 66, pages 1079–1093 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Surface urban heat islands (SUHIs) are one of the most studied phenomena in urban climates because they generate problems for the well-being of the urban population. This study analyzed the thermal comfort conditions at microclimate scale and SUHI for João Pessoa city, Brazil. Micrometeorological data (temperature and air humidity data) collected at 10 stations in 2011 and 2018 were used to calculate Thom’s discomfort index (TDI) for João Pessoa city. Satellite images from Landsat 5/TM for 1991, 2006, and 2010 and Landsat 8/OLI for 2018 were used for land use and land cover classification and to identify SUHI. The obtained results highlighted that the SUHI area in João Pessoa city was 26 km2 and that almost half of the heat island area was concentrated in the Geisel, Aeroclube, Valentina, Distrito Industrial, Cristo Redentor, and Mangabeira neighborhoods. Regarding the micrometeorological data, higher values were obtained for 2018 in the dry periods (summer) and during the day. Based on the results, a considerable increase in discomfort during the daytime was observed in urbanized areas of the city from 2010 − 2018 due to the increase in the average temperature in João Pessoa between 1991 and 2018.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Paraíba, Postgraduate Programme of Civil and Environmental Engineering, João Pessoa, Brazil

    Regiane de Souza e Silva, Richarde Marques da Silva & Celso Augusto Guimarães Santos

  2. Federal University of Paraíba, Department of Geosciences, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil

    Richarde Marques da Silva, Joel Silva dos Santos & Eduardo Rodrigues Viana de Lima

  3. Federal University of Paraíba, Postgraduate Programme of Development and Environment, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil

    Anne Falcão de Freitas, Joel Silva dos Santos & Eduardo Rodrigues Viana de Lima

  4. Federal University of Paraíba, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, João Pessoa, PB, 58051-900, Brazil

    Celso Augusto Guimarães Santos

Authors
  1. Regiane de Souza e Silva
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  2. Richarde Marques da Silva
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  3. Anne Falcão de Freitas
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  4. Joel Silva dos Santos
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  5. Celso Augusto Guimarães Santos
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  6. Eduardo Rodrigues Viana de Lima
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Correspondence to Celso Augusto Guimarães Santos.

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de Souza e Silva, R., da Silva, R.M., de Freitas, A.F. et al. Thermal comfort conditions at microclimate scale and surface urban heat island in a tropical city: A study on João Pessoa city, Brazil. Int J Biometeorol 66, 1079–1093 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-022-02260-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-022-02260-y

Keywords

  • GIS
  • Heat islands
  • Microclimate
  • Remote sensing
  • Thermal discomfort
  • Urbanization