This study aims to verify the distribution of absolute humidity and variation of air temperature in the urban canopy layer, linking them to the presence of a water body in the town of São José do Rio Preto, SP. The combination of the moisture content in the air provided by a water body and the blowing potential of the wind may strongly affect the microclimate conditions of an urban area, leading to a milder thermal environment. Nine data collection points were distributed throughout the urban fabric in order to detect differences in air temperature and absolute air humidity. Four of them were chosen to detail the physical phenomenon associated to the heat exchange in the urban canopy layer according to the absolute humidity distribution. The point located close to the banks of the reservoir maintained an average temperature 2ºC lower than the point located on a paved area, and its was 7 g/m³ more humid. The high rates of variation of absolute humidity detected in this study justify the need to create strategies to reduce evaporation and to improve absolute humidity distribution throughout the urban canopy layer in dry and warm periods in urban areas situated on continental regions.
Water bodies; Absolute humidity; Urban ventilation; Urban thermal environment
