This study investigates the influence of land use and land cover (LULC) on the distribution of extreme rainfall in the tropical coastal city of Natal, Brazil. Hourly precipitation data from eight automatic rain gauges (2014–2023) were quality-controlled, with only days containing 24 h continuous records retained. Rainfall events were classified into light (50 mm) categories, and for each category daily accumulation, duration, intensity, and maximum hourly peaks were calculated. Seasonal and spatial differences across administrative zones were assessed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The LULC changes were evaluated from the MapBiomas Collection 9 dataset. Results show that between 1985 and 2020, the proportion of urbanized (non-vegetated) surfaces increased from 27.7% (42.3 km²) to 64.3% (99.7 km²), mainly in the North and West zones, replacing agricultural and vegetated areas. The East and North zones, the most urbanized areas, recorded higher daily averages of extreme rainfall in the dry season (85–88 mm) than in the wet season (78–82 mm), with maximum peaks up to 26 mm/h and durations exceeding 17 h. These findings demonstrate that rapid urban expansion intensifies rainfall extremes, underscoring the importance of incorporating LULC monitoring (e.g., MapBiomas) and spatial planning into climate adaptation strategies for medium-sized cities.

Com advento das mudanças climáticas, muitas cidades têm registrado aumento da temperatura do ar devido ao processo de urbanização desordenada. Com isso, a pesquisa teve o objetivo a variabilidade da temperatura do ar anual máxima e mínima para as normais climatológicas de 1961-1990 e 1991-2020 para os municípios de Recife e Surubim. Assim, foram utilizados os dados médios mensais das normais climatológicas supracitadas, fornecidos pelo banco de dados do Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET). Dessa forma, foi possível observar aumento de 0,9 °C na temperatura máxima de Recife, 1,0 °C na temperatura mínima, enquanto para Surubim foi encontrado aumento de até 1,1 °C na temperatura máxima e 1,0 °C na temperatura mínima da cidade. .