Investigation of environmental changes in arid and semi-arid regions based on MODIS LST data (case study: Yazd province, central Iran)

Temperature changes have been one of the adverse consequences of climate change in the past two decades. To tackle the issues related to this global challenge, it is specifically important to assess temperature trends in arid and semi-arid climates due to their sensitive and fragile ecosystem. Because there are insufficient and sparse data on the spatial distribution of air temperature in these areas, the use of satellite remote sensing data is inevitable. In this study, 19 years of daily Aqua MODIS LST data collection 6 (MYD11A1) was used to evaluate temperature trends in Yazd province, located in central Iran. First, the trend of MODIS LST (daytime and nighttime) on annual and seasonal scales was evaluated using a linear regression model. Then, spatial and temporal trends in desert, urban, and mountainous areas were analyzed, and finally, the changes in diurnal temperature range (DTR) were investigated. Due to the complex and heterogeneous topography of the region, the spatial distribution of the LST trend was uneven. However, the mountainous areas of the province experienced increasing trends on an annual and seasonal scale (excluding autumn daytime), especially at night. On the other hand, in low elevated and desert areas in the east of the province, a decreasing trend was observed during the day, while an increasing trend was detected at night.