Estimation of the urban heat island in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Abstract

This study aims to map the urban heat island in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro (MARJ) using remote sensing data to derive land use maps and land-surface temperature (LST) fields based on Landsat data. The LST difference between urban and vegetation and the temporal evolution of LST were verified based on the Students's t statistical test conducted at the 5% level. Obtained results indicate that LST has increased by approximately 2.0 °C over the last decade and that urban heat island has increased from 4.4 to 6.1 °C.