Abstract
This study aimed to quantify the influence of anthropogenic activity in changing the microclimate of the urban area of a small town. To this end, the temperature and relative humidity were monitored over six days using a direct-reading thermo-hygrometers placed in mini weather stations. The points where these instruments were installed were spatialized in geographic information system environment using Quickbird satellite imagery. It was defined areas of influence with 450 m radius from each sampling point, which were vectorized and classified according to urban land use. Analysis of Variance indicated a statistically significant difference in temperature and relative humidity between sites under different human activity levels. Later a linear correlation between the temperature and relative humidity with the anthropogenic levels, evidenced that anthropic areas are closely related to local climatic variation. The interference of green areas works inversely, increasing the definition of microclimate throughout the day. The effects of land use on the microclimate are cumulative, i.e, at the end of the day the correlation of the microclimate with land use reached a maximum.
Highlights
The transformation of the landscape by society, with the development of cities and consequent disappearance of native vegetation, has caused sudden climatic changes, such as the urban heat islands, affecting the environment and the quality of life of people. These changes can be identified by the rise in average temperatures of the central zones of an urban area, in comparison to peripheral areas or periurban areas
The sampling sites were spatialized on the images, since the goal of the study was to explain the influence of land use strictly around each sampling site
It was possible to relate the effects of land use on the local microclimate
Summary
The transformation of the landscape by society, with the development of cities and consequent disappearance of native vegetation, has caused sudden climatic changes, such as the urban heat islands, affecting the environment and the quality of life of people. These changes can be identified by the rise in average temperatures of the central zones of an urban area, in comparison to peripheral areas (neighborhood farther from the city center) or periurban areas The buildings, for example, must comply with the availability of solar energy, because the base temperature is usually associated to the Maringá, v. 35, n. 2, p. 349-361, Apr.-June, 2013 limits of human comfort, and varies from one location to another, especially in tropical countries
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