Analysis of thermal comfort for the months of April and October in the village of Alter do Chão, Santarém/PA

Abstract

Thermal comfort is a psychological condition that expresses satisfaction with the environment where the individual is inserted, that is, it is the parameter that evaluates how pleasant or unpleasant this place is. The purpose of this research is to acquire information about the thermal conditions of the village of Alter do Chão, located in the municipality of Santarém-PA, which was elected as the holder of the most beautiful freshwater beach in the world, in 2009 by the British newspaper The Guardian and according to the newspaper "O Estado de São Paulo" and, is among the top ten international tourist destinations visited in Brazil. In view of the above, the study aims to analyze the thermal comfort index for the months of April (rainiest period) and October (driest period) of 2023. The data were obtained from a collection point of the Pilot Network for Innovation in Air Quality Monitoring: Air Caregivers Project, installed in the village of Alter do Chão. The monitoring kit features an AM2302 temperature and humidity meter, with measurement intervals every four seconds. Descriptive statistics and the Temperature and Humidity Index (UTI) were used, with the aid of the free software R. The results indicated that there was extreme discomfort in both months analyzed. April presented the averages of air temperature, relative humidity and UTI of 30.56°C, 75.78% and 29.75 respectively. In October, the averages were still higher (34.65°C, 56.85% and 31.61) due to the month belonging to the least rainy period in the region. The maximum values that occurred in October drew attention due to the temperature exceeding 41°C on the 28th.    It should be noted that extreme discomfort is harmful to human health, in addition to impacting the local economy, and, due to the occurrence of climate change, the tendency is for the discomfort to worsen.