Spatial analysis of temperature in the central area of the city of Belém (PA)

Abstract

In recent years, the city of Belém (PA) has been registering increases in intra-urban temperatures, especially in its central area, which has large concentrations of verticalization, population and vehicle traffic, as well as reductions in vegetation. The interest in studying this phenomenon arose from the observation of temperature increases in the city, recorded by INMET in recent decades. The aim was to carry out a study of the temperature characteristics in the central area of Belém, using mobile transects. The methodology included literature review and temperature surveys in the central area of the city, based on transects carried out in August 2015, at night, and September 2016, during the day. The analysis revealed that, at night, the southwestern sector had the highest temperatures, as it is downwind of verticalization, while the eastern sector had the lowest temperatures; during the day, the southern sector of the central area, considered more populated and with little tree cover, had the highest temperatures, while the southwestern sector had the lowest records, as it has areas with good tree cover. Therefore, neighborhoods with little vegetation had higher temperatures than neighborhoods with trees, i.e. the lack of vegetation was directly reflected in the temperature increment.