Authors:
Cátia Rodrigues de Almeida
1
;
2
;
3
;
Artur Gonçalves
3
and
Ana Cláudia Teodoro
2
;
1
Affiliations:
1
Earth Sciences Institute (ICT), Pole of the FCUP, University of Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
;
2
Department of Geosciences, Environment and Land Planning, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Campo Alegre, 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
;
3
CIMO, LA SusTEC, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300 253 Bragança, Portugal
Keyword(s):
Urban Heat Island (UHI), Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI), Remote Sensing (RS), Albedo, Land Use and Land Cover (LULC), Land Surface Temperature (LST).
Abstract:
The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect occurs when temperatures in urban areas are higher than surrounding vegetated areas, especially during the sunset and sunrise. UHI impacts include effects on public health and well-being, changes to the local microclimate, and influence on the local biome. This study evaluates the Land Surface Temperature (LST) and the corresponding Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity (SUHIint) across different Local Climate Zones (LCZs) in Bragança (Portugal) from 2013 to 2024, using images from Landsat 8 and 9 data collected with a portable thermal camera on different surfaces to assess thermal behavior across different scales. The results confirm the existence of the UHI effect in Bragança, where vegetated areas exhibit milder temperatures compared to built areas, especially in summer afternoons. Satellite-derived LST data indicate that the lowest temperature was recorded in an LCZ with vegetation, reaching (-7ºC), while the highest minimum temperature was observ
ed in an LCZ with higher density of anthropogenic elements (-3ºC). Thermal camera measurements showed that surfaces such as asphalt and exposed soil reached 80 ºC in the morning and remained above 60ºC in the afternoon. These findings underscore the importance of considering mitigation measures, such as increasing vegetation in urbanized areas or replacing impervious surfaces.
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