Temporal and Spatial Urban Heat Islands in a Coastal Brazilian Area of Tropical Climate

This study explores the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon in the Metropolitan Region of Vitória (MRV), Brazil. Two methods were employed: the traditional approach estimating the Atmospheric Urban Heat Island (UHI) using air temperature data, and the quantiles method assessing the Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) through medium spatial resolution images. The findings demonstrate the existence of an average heat island effect, as estimated by both UHI (+0.9 °C) and SUHI (+2.03 °C). The intensity of the atmospheric UHI is linked with higher air temperature values around midday. Additionally, the study reveals that UHI values in the MRV are more pronounced during spring and summer SUHI estimates peak during the summer months. The utilization of orbital remote sensing enables the identification of hotspots throughout the metropolitan area, with the highest temperatures observed in industrial areas, suburban neighborhoods, and densely populated regions. The advantage of the UHI method lies in its long time series, providing high temporal resolution and statistical significance over an extended period. Conversely, the SUHI method offers the advantage of considering data across the entire domain with high spatial resolution. Thus, these two methods complement each other in identifying the heat island phenomenon.