O clima urbano em Juiz de Fora – MG : uma abordagem a partir das Zonas Climáticas Locais

Abstract

Urbanization is a global reality and constitutes one of the main socio-spatial transformations of the 21st century, promoting the expansion and densification of built-up areas and profoundly altering the physical properties of the urban surface. Changes in albedo and the increased heat storage capacity intensify the absorption of solar radiation, favoring the warming of the near-surface atmosphere. As a result, each city develops its own climate, conditioned not only by urban form but also by site characteristics and atmospheric dynamics: the urban climate. In this context, this thesis analyzes the production of the intra-urban climate in Juiz de Fora (MG), a medium-sized city located in a tropical highland environment and characterized by highly compartmentalized relief. In complex urban site contexts, intra-urban thermal patterns cannot be fully explained by isolated typological approaches, such as the Local Climate Zones (LCZ) classification proposed by Stewart and Oke (2012). The objective is to analyze the spatio-temporal variability of air temperature in Juiz de Fora based on LCZs, articulating this classification with the role of the urban site, relief and hydrography, and the influence of regional and synoptic atmospheric dynamics. The results showed that intra-urban thermal patterns do not respond homogeneously to LCZ typologies, being conditioned by the interaction between urban morphology. A thermal differentiation is observed between densely urbanized areas and sectors associated with greater vegetation cover, as well as the occurrence of thermal inversions in valley bottoms. It was also verified that atmospheric systems such as cold fronts and the South Atlantic Subtropical Anticyclone play a determining role in modulating the urban thermal structure, influencing the intensity, persistence, and spatial organization of urban heat and cool islands. Thus, in cities located in tropical highland environments with complex relief, the production of the urban climate results from the inseparable interaction between urban form, orography, hydrography, and atmospheric dynamics. In this sense, thermal patterns classically associated with Local Climate Zones are spatially reconfigured, highlighting the limitations of typological approaches detached from the urban site and reinforcing the need for integrated analyses to better understand intra-urban thermal structure.