Coupling urbanization analyses and seasonal variations for studying urban thermal environment based on Landsat data, case of Oran in Algeria

Urbanization is a human-made process that has a direct impact on regional scale climate. In this study, we assess the effect of urbanization on land surface temperature through the analysis of remote sensing images, focusing on the city of Oran in Algeria. Satellite data from Landsat sensors were used to spatially quantify land surface temperature (LST) using an improved split-window algorithm (SWA), as well as to quantify surface heat island intensity (SHI) by comparing the average surface temperature of each district and neighborhood of Oran city with that of rural areas outside. The quantitative assessment is based on surface temperature maps obtained over a five-year period, from the year 2017 to 2021. Overall, the results show that the LST is high over the slum-built-up areas, and low in individual and old built-up areas. Similarly, SHI is higher in areas is higher in areas where vegetation is scarce and the proportion of impervious surfaces is high.