Temporal trends of surface urban heat islands and associated determinants in major Chinese cities

There are many studies focusing on spatial variations of surface urban heat islands (SUHIs) in literature. In this study, MODIS land surface temperature (LST) data and China's Land Use/Cover Datasets (CLUDs) were used to examine the temporal trends of SUHIs in 31 major Chinese cities during 2001–2015 using three indicators: SUHI intensity (SUHII), area of the SUHI (AreaSUHI) and percentage of area with increasing SUHII (PAISUHII). Correlation analyses between SUHII and background (rural) LST (extracted from MODIS LST), vegetation coverage (reflected by MODIS EVI data) and anthropogenic heat release (reflected by nighttime light data) were performed from temporal rather than spatial perspectives. Our findings showed that the SUHII and AreaSUHI in urbanized areas increased significantly in most cities in summer days, whereas they increased significantly in approximately half and more than half of the cities in summer and winter nights, respectively. In summer days, summer nights and winter nights, the PAISUHII was approximately 80% and over 50% in union areas and the 20km buffer, respectively. Correlation analyses indicated that the SUHII in stable urban areas was negatively correlated with the background LST in summer and winter days for most cities, especially in northern China. A reduction in vegetation contributed to the increasing SUHII in urbanized areas in summer days and nights. The increasing anthropogenic heat release was an important factor for increases in the SUHII in urbanized areas. Temporal trends of surface urban heat island intensity in China during 2001–2015. SUA: stable urban area. UA: urbanized area. [Display omitted] •It is first time to study the temporal trends of SUHI at national scale.•The surface urban heat island is intensifying in China.•SUHII in SUA and UA was correlated with LST and urbanization, respectively.