Satellite Clear‐Sky Observations Overestimate Surface Urban Heat Islands in Humid Cities
Abstract Satellite‐based thermal infrared (TIR) land surface temperature (LST) is hindered by cloud cover and is applicable solely under clear‐sky conditions for estimating surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII). Clear‐sky SUHII may not accurately represent all‐sky conditions, potentially intro...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106995 |
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| _version_ | 1849314203789164544 |
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| author | Qiquan Yang Yi Xu Dawei Wen Ting Hu TC Chakraborty Yue Liu Rui Yao Shurui Chen Changjiang Xiao Jie Yang |
| author_facet | Qiquan Yang Yi Xu Dawei Wen Ting Hu TC Chakraborty Yue Liu Rui Yao Shurui Chen Changjiang Xiao Jie Yang |
| author_sort | Qiquan Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Satellite‐based thermal infrared (TIR) land surface temperature (LST) is hindered by cloud cover and is applicable solely under clear‐sky conditions for estimating surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII). Clear‐sky SUHII may not accurately represent all‐sky conditions, potentially introducing quantitative biases in assessing urban heat islands. However, the differences between clear‐sky and all‐sky SUHIIs and their spatiotemporal variations are still poorly understood. Our analysis of over 600 global cities demonstrates that clear‐sky SUHII is mostly higher than all‐sky SUHII, particularly in summer, daytime, and precipitation‐rich regions. Besides, clear‐sky SUHII typically exhibits stronger seasonal and diurnal contrasts than all‐sky SUHII, especially for cities located in humid regions. These discrepancies can be attributed mainly to the increased missing LST data caused by cloud enhancement in urban areas. Our findings highlight the tendency for clear‐sky observations to overestimate SUHII, providing valuable insights for standardizing the quantification of surface urban heat islands. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4d2c49f4927244afbd220310cbe7aa0f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-4d2c49f4927244afbd220310cbe7aa0f2025-08-20T03:52:32ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-01-01512n/an/a10.1029/2023GL106995Satellite Clear‐Sky Observations Overestimate Surface Urban Heat Islands in Humid CitiesQiquan Yang0Yi Xu1Dawei Wen2Ting Hu3TC Chakraborty4Yue Liu5Rui Yao6Shurui Chen7Changjiang Xiao8Jie Yang9State Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences Macau University of Science and Technology Macau ChinaState Key Laboratory of Lunar and Planetary Sciences Macau University of Science and Technology Macau ChinaSchool of Computer Science and Engineering Hubei Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robot Wuhan Institute of Technology Wuhan ChinaSchool of Remote Sensing and Geomatics Engineering Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Nanjing ChinaPacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland WA USAGuangzhou Institute of Geography Guangdong Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaSchool of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaCollege of Surveying & Geo‐Informatics Tongji University Shanghai ChinaCollege of Surveying & Geo‐Informatics Tongji University Shanghai ChinaSchool of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaAbstract Satellite‐based thermal infrared (TIR) land surface temperature (LST) is hindered by cloud cover and is applicable solely under clear‐sky conditions for estimating surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII). Clear‐sky SUHII may not accurately represent all‐sky conditions, potentially introducing quantitative biases in assessing urban heat islands. However, the differences between clear‐sky and all‐sky SUHIIs and their spatiotemporal variations are still poorly understood. Our analysis of over 600 global cities demonstrates that clear‐sky SUHII is mostly higher than all‐sky SUHII, particularly in summer, daytime, and precipitation‐rich regions. Besides, clear‐sky SUHII typically exhibits stronger seasonal and diurnal contrasts than all‐sky SUHII, especially for cities located in humid regions. These discrepancies can be attributed mainly to the increased missing LST data caused by cloud enhancement in urban areas. Our findings highlight the tendency for clear‐sky observations to overestimate SUHII, providing valuable insights for standardizing the quantification of surface urban heat islands.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106995UHI effectdata missingall‐weatheruncertaintyglobal |
| spellingShingle | Qiquan Yang Yi Xu Dawei Wen Ting Hu TC Chakraborty Yue Liu Rui Yao Shurui Chen Changjiang Xiao Jie Yang Satellite Clear‐Sky Observations Overestimate Surface Urban Heat Islands in Humid Cities Geophysical Research Letters UHI effect data missing all‐weather uncertainty global |
| title | Satellite Clear‐Sky Observations Overestimate Surface Urban Heat Islands in Humid Cities |
| title_full | Satellite Clear‐Sky Observations Overestimate Surface Urban Heat Islands in Humid Cities |
| title_fullStr | Satellite Clear‐Sky Observations Overestimate Surface Urban Heat Islands in Humid Cities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Satellite Clear‐Sky Observations Overestimate Surface Urban Heat Islands in Humid Cities |
| title_short | Satellite Clear‐Sky Observations Overestimate Surface Urban Heat Islands in Humid Cities |
| title_sort | satellite clear sky observations overestimate surface urban heat islands in humid cities |
| topic | UHI effect data missing all‐weather uncertainty global |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106995 |
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