The urban heat island of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo: characterization and relationships between air and surface temperatures

• Grant number: 22/15999-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: January 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Humberto Ribeiro da Rocha
• Grantee: Rodrigo Lustosa
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/11762-5 - Centre for Water and Food Security in Critical Zones, AP.CCD

Abstract

Urbanized areas tend to be warmer than their surroundings, phenomenon known as Urban Heat Island (UHI). High temperatures are associated with an increase in population mortality and in the spread of vector diseases such as dengue fever. As most of the Brazilian and world population lives in cities today, it is very important to study and understand UHIs, especially to determine which places in a city are warmer. In this study, it is intended to analyze in detail the canopy UHI (CUHI) and the surface UHI (SUHI) of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP) and their intensities, where surface is the contact boundary of the terrestrial bodies with the air, sampled by the surface temperature (TS) obtained from Landsat and Aqua/Terra (MODIS sensor) satellites, and canopy is the layer of air between the ground and rough elements such as roofs and treetops, sampled by the air temperature measured at weather stations (Ta). There are plenty of SUHI studies due to the advantage of large spatial sampling of TS, but that can have low temporal sampling and is dependent on the spatial resolution. Also, the CUHI and ICUS patterns are spatially and temporally different. The CUHI discussion with Ta can bring more accurate conclusions about the unfolding of heating patterns regarding thermal stress, health risks and well-being conditions. This study will analyze the dependence relationships between Ta and TS in the MRSP, at different hours and seasons, considering possible influencing factors such as wind, cloudiness and the surface cover with NDVI parameters and Local Climate Zones (LCZ) patterns, in order to integrate the understanding of CUHI and SUHI in more depth. (AU)