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July 19, 2026International Journal of Digital Earth1 citationsOpen Access

Diurnal land surface temperature responses to urban morphology during heatwaves: insights from SDGSAT-1 and explainable machine learning

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QMQixia ManCZCong ZhouCHChangyin Han

Key Points

  • This study aims to explore how urban morphology impacts diurnal land surface temperature during heatwaves.
  • Diurnal land surface temperature was retrieved using thermal infrared data from SDGSAT-1.
  • A 2D-3D urban morphology indicator system was created from various remote sensing datasets.
  • XGBoost and SHAP methods were utilized to analyze nonlinear and interactive effects on LST.
  • Daytime LST is significantly influenced by vegetation and buildings, while nighttime LST is affected by all three: vegetation, buildings, and human activities.
  • Height of trees (>15 m) and buildings (>10 m) shows nonlinear responses, enhancing daytime cooling and increasing nighttime warming.
  • Optimal cooling during the day occurs with high tree and building heights and low building density, whereas vertical morphology correlates with higher nighttime LST.

Abstract

Understanding how urban morphological structure regulates land surface temperature (LST) is critical for mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect under extreme heatwave conditions. However, the interactive and threshold effects of urban morphology on diurnal LST variation remain insufficiently understood. In this study, diurnal LST was retrieved from high-resolution, radiometrically consistent thermal infrared data acquired by SDGSAT-1. A two-dimensional (2D)–three-dimensional (3D) urban morphology indicator system was constructed using multi-source remote sensing datasets describing buildings, vegetation, and anthropogenic activity. XGBoost models combined with SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were applied to quantify nonlinear and interactive effects on daytime and nighttime LST. The results indicate that: (1) vegetation and building environments dominate daytime LST variations, whereas nighttime LST is jointly influenced by vegetation, buildings, and anthropogenic factors; (2) tree height (TH) and building height (BH) exhibit nonlinear response relationships revealed by SHAP, with enhanced daytime cooling but intensified nighttime warming when TH exceeds ~15 m and BH surpasses ~10 m; and (3) interaction effects show that high TH and BH combined with low building density (BD) produce optimal daytime cooling, while elevated vertical morphology is associated with higher nighttime LST.

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Cite This Study

Man et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a5c69c3118b92953e3edf52https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2026.2693363
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