Identificação de ilhas de calor e aspectos urbanos na cidade de Francisco Beltrão, Paraná, Brasil.

Abstract

Throughout the historical process of the human species on Earth, the natural environment has been altered according to the various social needs. The quest for survival and the formation of life in society affected pre-existing conditions and resulted in a modified environment. Population growth, coupled with urbanization and high consumption combined, have triggered numerous problems for ecosystems, including the degradation of air quality. The replacement of permeable areas by paving and the verticalization of buildings in urban centers led to changes in microclimate characteristics in cities, the so-called urban climate. The phenomenon representative of the urban climate established by the process of urbanization, is called Island of Urban Heat. This phenomenon is known for the alteration of the thermal heat balance between the urban centers and their surrounding areas. It is the storage of heat in the materials during the day and the release of heat at night. The present study aimed to identify the process of formation of the urban heat islands and the characterization of the areas that presented this phenomenon in the city of Francisco Beltrão, located in the southwest of Paraná. For this, the mapping of the thermo-hygrometric variation was performed, with temperature and relative humidity data collected along mobile transects in the city, which encompassed different characteristics of the urban space. Through the mapping, it was possible to identify regions that presented a variation of 2.72ºC, 5.6ºC, 2.37ºC above the average temperature and -12.91%, -9.4%, - 8.24% below the mean humidity donate. In the maps generated it was possible to identify mild temperatures at the edges of the urban perimeter and higher temperatures in areas with dense urbanization.