MODELING OF THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND IN AN AMAZONIAN CITY

Abstract The urban heat island (UHI) is a phenomenon specific to the urban climate, defined by the difference in air temperature recorded between a built-up/paved area and its natural/vegetated surroundings, and it has implications for the comfort and health of the urban population. The study’s methodology involves collecting primary data using the moving transect technique during representative periods of the rainy and drier seasons in the city of Coari, with data collection taking place in September 2019 and 2023 and November 2024. Secondary data obtained through remote sensing and from institutional sources were used to create maps characterizing the urban area for application in statistical modeling to spatialize the UHI. The results demonstrate that in Coari, urban development has generated significant heat islands that vary depending on weather conditions and the local climate zones mapped in the city, with a modeled air temperature difference that can exceed 5°C. The importance of this research lies in the fact that, in the Western Amazon, there is no observation network in urban environments, particularly in small cities such as Coari, that can support research on atmospheric changes at the local scale. The statistical modeling demonstrated the ability to represent the spatial variation observed in the analyzed transects, with performance that varied across the data collection dates in Coari, primarily because it allowed for a correlation between urban site characteristics and air temperature behavior; it also highlighted the need to consider other variables specific to the Amazonian context to obtain more meaningful results.