Zoneamento bioclimático do conforto humano para o estado de Minas Gerais com base no índice de temperatura e umidade

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the climate and the trends for specific periods, in order to quantify the level of thermal comfort for the agricultural workers who labor in the state of Minas Gerais. These workers exert their activities in open environments, exposed to the meteorological variables, being affected straight by the climate. Historical series of monthly average data of air dry bulb temperature (tdb) – maximum, medium and minimum - and air relative humidity (RH), for the period of 1976 to 2014, obtained from INMET meteorological stations were used in this study. These series were converted into historical series of monthly averagedata of the maximum, medium and minimum temperature-humidity index (THI), which provided the bioclimatic mapping. Subsequently, statistical tests were applied in the THI data series to evaluate trends of increasing or decreasing values for the next decade. Statistical trends of growth in the thermal discomfort conditions in the several mesoregions of the state of Minas Gerais during the seasons were observed, being more prominent in summer and spring.