The angular coefficient of the linear regression analysis and the Mann-Kendall's coefficient were used to analyze the monthly climatic trends of the maximum and minimum air temperatures, sunshine and water vapor content, on selected locations in the state of Minas Gerais. Both statistical tests were applied in three different periods, one, from 1961 to 2004, and the other ones at intervals separeted by the discontinuity point detected by the Standard Normal Homogeneity Test (SNHT). The most relevant results indicated that in Minas Gerais the maximum and minimum air temperatures increased in the period 1960-2004, between 1,3ºC and 3,9ºC, but this behavior was generally not gradual, being associated with the discontinuity occurring mostly in the 1990's. Most of the significant increase of the maximum temperature was centered between September and December. The dominance of positive trend for water vapor was consistent with the increase in the observed extreme air temperature. It was observed, among the low significant trends of sunshine, a persistence decline from the 1960's until the mid-1990's.
Temperature; sunshine; water vapor; climate
