Contrasting Trends and Drivers of Global Surface and Canopy Urban Heat Islands

• Published in: Geophysical research letters 2023-08, Vol.50 (15), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Du, Huilin, Zhan, Wenfeng, Voogt, James, Bechtel, Benjamin, Chakraborty, T. C., Liu, Zihan, Hu, Leiqiu, Wang, Zhihua, Li, Jiufeng, Fu, Peng, Liao, Weilin, Luo, Ming, Li, Long, Wang, Shasha, Huang, Fan, Miao, Shiqi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air temperature; background climate; Canopies; Canopy; canopy urban heat island; Climate change; Daytime; Global climate; Heat; Islands; Land surface temperature; Mitigation; Night; Plant cover; Surface properties; surface property; Surface temperature; surface urban heat island; Surface-air temperature relationships; Trends; urban climate change; Urban climates; Urban heat islands
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2023GL104661

A comprehensive comparison of the trends and drivers of global surface and canopy urban heat islands (termed Is and Ic trends, respectively) is critical for better designing urban heat mitigation strategies. However, such a global comparison remains largely absent. Using spatially continuous land surface temperatures and surface air temperatures (2003–2020), here we find that the magnitude of the global mean Is trend (0.19 ± 0.006°C/decade, mean ± SE) for 5,643 cities worldwide is nearly six‐times the corresponding Ic trend (0.03 ± 0.002°C/decade) during the day, while the former (0.06 ± 0.004°C/decade) is double the latter (0.03 ± 0.002°C/decade) at night. Variable importance scores indicate that global daytime Is trend is slightly more controlled by surface property, while background climate plays a more dominant role in regulating global daytime Ic trend. At night, both global Is and Ic trends are mainly controlled by background climate. Plain Language Summary Surface and canopy urban heat islands (surface and canopy UHIs, termed Is and Ic) are two major UHI types. These two counterparts are both related to urban population heat exposure and have long been a focus of urban climate research. However, the differences in the trends and major determinants of Is and Ic over global cities remain largely unclear. Based on spatially continuous land surface temperature and surface air temperature observations from 2003 to 2020, we find that the global mean Is trends are about 6.3 times and 2 times the Ic trends during the day and at night, respectively. During the day, the global Is trend is more regulated by surface property than by background climate, and vice versa for global Ic trend. At night, both the global Is and Ic trends are mainly regulated by background climate. These findings are important for better understanding global urban climate change and informing heat mitigation strategies. Key Points The global Is trend is six‐fold and twofold larger than the Ic trend during the day and at night, respectively During the day, global Is trend is slightly more controlled by surface property, yet background climate plays a dominant role in Ic trend At night, both global Is and Ic trends are more regulated by background climate