A Numerical Approach to Assess the Urban Heat Island Effect and Thermal Discomfort Supported by the WRF/SLUCM Modeling System: A Case Study of Campos dos Goytacazes/RJ (Brazil)

Land use changes can affect the flow of energy in the soil-atmosphere system, impacting the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Since the climate conditions of Campos dos Goytacazes are changing (becoming drier and warmer), the city was chosen as a study area. This research aims to investigate the behavior of surface energy fluxes and their impact on the UHI and discomfort index (DI) by simulating different surface condition scenarios for the warmest day of 2019. The weather research and forecasting model was used to simulate three scenarios: in the first simulation, anthropogenic heat was excluded, and no green roofs were added; in the second simulation, anthropogenic heat was included without green roofs; and in the third simulation, both anthropogenic heat and green roofs were included. The results showed that anthropogenic heat intensifies the UHI and increases the DI. The effect of green roofs covering 50% of the urban area can reduce the nocturnal effects of the UHI caused by anthropogenic heat, but it does not significantly impact the DI.