Warm season land surface temperature and its relationship with local climate zones in post-socialist cities

Abstract The current study brings detailed Land Surface Temperature (LST) information on 6 medium and small cities located in north-eastern Romania, with urban features that are specific to eastern Europe. In this analysis 2273 Landsat images have been used, outlining the LST spatial distribution and its long term (1984–2022) evolution for the analyzed cities at LCZs level, but also enabling a sound spatial hot/cold spots identification. The methodological approach included LST products investigation, LCZ classification, trend analysis and cold/hot spots analysis using Getis-Ord Gi* statistic. The results indicate that for the warm season the highest LST values correspond to industrial areas (32–34 °C), while the tree-based green areas and the water bodies are the coldest (26–28 °C). Moreover, the built-up LCZ types are subject to a higher positive trend of LST, capable to determine an intensification of SUHI in most of the analyzed cities. Consequently, the industrial areas and the high densely built LCZs contribute mostly to urban hot spots development, while forests and water bodies around the cities are overlapping the cold spots. Hot/cold spots identification besides the understanding of their LCZ features serve as a useful tool for urban stakeholders in their effort to advance concrete measures to mitigate temperature extremes inside the urban areas.