Efficient cooling of cities at global scale using urban green space to mitigate urban heat island effects in different climatic regions

Abstract

In the context of rapid urbanization and global warming, how to use urban green space (UGS) with high-efficiency to mitigate the urban heat islands (UHIs) effect in different climate zones has become an urgent issue. However, few studies have provided specific guidance for urban vegetation planning adapting to different climate zones on a global scale. In this study, a cooling effect framework was employed to analyze the influence of UGS patch characteristics, natural and anthropogenic factors on its cooling effect across different climatic zones. We found that the urban cooling islands (UCI) intensity, extent, and gradient of UGS increased with latitude, with lower cooling effect concentrated in arid zones around 30 °N, while the largest (0.38 ha) and smallest (0.24 ha) threshold value of efficiency (TVoE) were found in the temperate and arid climate zones. The larger the UGS area, the better the cooling effect in all climate zones. Moreover, complex shapes have a greater UCI intensity in tropical and temperate zones than other regions, while the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) has a stronger effect in arid zones. In the continental zone, patch characteristics had little effect. The overall explanation rate of natural and anthropogenic factors on the cooling effect of UGS was 53.5 %, among which natural factors were approximately twice that of anthropogenic factors. Notably, natural factors dominated in the tropical and arid zones affecting UCI, and anthropogenic factors dominated in the temperate and continental zones. The findings of this study expand our understanding of the cooling effect of UGS in different climatic zones around the world and provide insights for urban sustainable development.