Integration of temperature data in environmental planning: advances and challenges in São Paulo

São Paulo, the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere, has increasingly integrated temperature data into its environmental planning, particularly since 2020. This paper examines how the Municipal Secretariat for Environment (SVMA) has incorporated surface temperature data from academic institutions into policy.

The Municipal Plan for Green Areas, Protected Areas, and Open Spaces draws on MODIS land surface temperature (LST) data from academic research on the metropolitan region and intends to use it to prioritize vegetation expansion in high-temperature, high-vulnerability areas. The plan mandates annual temperature updates and public dissemination. To advance this effort, in 2023, SVMA partnered with the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics, and Atmospheric Sciences (IAG-USP) to develop the Municipal Temperature Atlas, analyzing surface and air temperatures using Landsat data (1985–2025). Preliminary results are presented for 2017–2023. Additionally, a collaboration with the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI) enabled the use of microclimate simulations (ENVI-met) to assess both current and future scenarios.

Despite these advances, urban planning sectors remain disconnected from climate considerations. While the environmental agency incorporates temperature and vegetation data into decision-making, zoning regulations—such as building height and occupancy rates—continue to neglect climatic factors, potentially undermining environmental progress. São Paulo’s urban model, which promotes dense development and verticalization along transit corridors to reduce car use and emissions, heightens risks in areas with low vegetation cover. Robust thermal data is crucial for revising urban planning tools, supporting environmental education, informing licensing, and strengthening structural measures against heat waves. However, weak institutional coordination across sectors and the persistent misalignment between research timelines and the urgency of political decision-making continue to hinder the full integration of climate-sensitive urban planning.