Análise dos índices de conforto e desconforto térmico humano para as capitais do nordeste brasileiro

Abstract

With the advent of climate change and the increasing population growth, it becomes increasingly important to assess the consequences to the environment, especially regarding land use, deforestation, water demands, and pollution. Such a scenario can interfere with the overall health and well-being of the population. In addition to temperature, air humidity, and wind speed, several other factors can influence the thermal comfort sensation, such as the architecture of buildings and the presence of vegetation. The Northeast region of Brazil presents a significant irregularity in its population distribution, where the majority of the population is concentrated in major urban centers located in the capitals. In this regard, the objective of this research study was to analyze temperature behavior and calculate the Human Thermal Comfort and Discomfort Indices (HTCI, DTHI), Wind Chill Index (WCI), and Heat Index (HI) for current and future scenarios, comparing the climatology from 1990 to 2020 with the last 8 years from 2012 to 2020, and discuss them in terms of how thermohygrometric conditions (temperature and humidity) affect human health performance in the capitals of the Northeast Brazil. To calculate the used indices, data from conventional meteorological stations provided by INMET were used for all capital cities in the Northeast region, considering the climate change scenarios from IPCC (optimistic and pessimistic). The differences observed in the HTC and DTHI graphs are mainly due to variations in humidity and temperature data among the capitals. For the IPCC scenarios of all capitals, the results suggest that the indices tend to vary significantly in classification, ranging from comfortable to uncomfortable, with the capitals located in the southern part of the Northeast region showing the best indices and the northern part showing the worst indices. The results also indicate a difference in temperature behavior, particularly in the capitals located in the north and east of the Northeast region.