Assessment of Thermal Comfort during the Dry Period in Mojui dos Campos, Municipality of Western Pará

Abstract

The issue about thermal comfort approaches a variety of challenges and complexities that arise from the interaction between climatic conditions, environmental and architectural factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate thermal comfort (TC) in a county in the Amazon during the dry season months in 2023 and to verify if there is a relation between TC and particulate matter (PM) levels, to provide relevant insights for understanding the environmental conditions. We considered daily data of air temperature (°C), relative humidity (%), and particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10, provided by the air quality monitoring kit from "Pilot Innovation Network for Air Quality Monitoring in the Western Pará Region: Guardians of the Air" project, from July to October 2023, months of the dry season in the region. We employed the methodology of the Temperature and Humidity Index (THI) and Pearson's linear correlation technique. The main results are the THI for the whole analyzed period was in the extremely uncomfortable category (THI > 26), and the correlation between THI and PMs showed a positive classification from moderate to weak (0.43 and 0.36). It is concluded that the increase in temperature and humidity in the dry period of the region generates significant thermal discomfort (UTI > 26), with a positive, although moderate to weak, correlation between thermal discomfort and particulate matter (PM). These results indicate the need for coordinated actions between government, communities, and academic institutions to develop practical and sustainable interventions, going beyond monitoring and promoting effective mitigation measures.