Air Temperature, Building Volume Density and Topography in Belo Horizonte/MG

Abstract

The air temperature presents spatial variation in urban areas due to several factors, among which stand out the land use, the land cover and the topography. This article shows the use of geographically weighted regression method (GWR) to analyse the relationship between these variables for the case of the city of Belo Horizonte (MG) in a dry period and clear sky condition which characterized the month of August. The building volume density and the altitude were defined as explanatory variables and the mean air temperature was the dependent variable. The results indicated a low prediction of the spatial methods in the explanation of the relation between the variables. The best correlation in the GWR analysis occurred for altitude and temperature, which points out a predominance of geoecological factors in the climatic condition of the city. Even with the limitations inherent to the statistical method, that theoretically presents a linear regression type, it is verified that this technique, associated with geographic information system platforms, contributed to the interpretation of the results in a local scale, and it can improve the understanding of the influence of the various parameters in the energy balance in the urban environment. At the same time, geoprocessing allows information update, and new data can be added to the models to improve their analytical capacity in an accessible language to decision makers in cities.