Assessing urban heat island effects through local weather types in Lisbon's Metropolitan Area using big data from the Copernicus service

Abstract

In this study UHI in Lisbon's Metropolitan Area (LMA) is analyzed through Local Weather Types (LWT) using an air temperature dataset produced by Copernicus. Over 61,000 hourly air temperature maps between 2008 and 2014 are extracted, divided into thermal seasons and LWT, and UHI is calculated by the anomaly between each raster cell and a pixel from “Low Plants” Local Climate Zone (LCZ) class. UHI daily cycle is analyzed by LWT. Statistical analysis shows that rainy days produce lower median UHI intensities (close to 0 °C), while sunny days, especially very cold winter days, produce higher UHI intensities (median values close to 1,5 °C). Analysis of the UHI pattern displays a S/SE-N/NW dichotomy in the right bank of the Tagus river and an N-S dichotomy in the Peninsula of Setúbal. The UHI effect is more pronounced in Lisbon, particularly in the riverfront area, and on the opposite bank of Tagus due to the shelter effect of frequent N winds. As previous studies have proven, UHI in LMA is mainly a nighttime phenomenon. This methodology may help decision makers to identify critical heating districts as well as weather conditions most conducive to a significant overheating of the urban atmosphere.