Consequences of covid-19: urban thermal variation and social repercussion

Abstract

Thermal variation is a common urban phenomenon, from small to large cities, both due to anthropic origin and natural causes. Due to the influence of COVID 19, there was a reduction in social activities, mainly economic, which impacted both industrial production and the decrease in vehicle circulation. Such changes in habits affect urban thermal dynamics. Thus, the objective of the study is to identify whether the reduction of socioeconomic activities has affected the patterns of thermal variation in Curitiba, Brazil. For this analysis, Landsat 8 images from the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 were used to verify the temperature variation in the region, and the NDVI index was applied to verify the variation in permeable area in the capital. Thus, it was possible to observe that the average total surface temperature of Curitiba decreased by 1.6° C. It was also seen that in some areas the reduction was greater than others, and the variation between minimum and maximum temperature was 13.3° C. It is noteworthy that due to the reduction in green areas in the region, an increase in temperature was expected. The areas with the greatest change in temperature in degrees were those with large roads in Curitiba, places whose population has a low salary compared to more central neighbourhoods in the city. Although the virus raises great concern about the health of the population, a significant decrease in temperature can be observed, mainly caused by the circulation of vehicles.