Local climate zones and diurnal surface heating in a Central European city: A comparison of Landsat, ECOSTRESS, and ENVI-met with in situ measurements in Košice (Slovakia)

Fine-scale characterisation of the surface urban heat island (SUHI) in mid-sized Central European cities remains limited, despite growing evidence of climate impacts. This study investigates how Local Climate Zones (LCZ) modulate land surface temperature (LST) and SUHI in Košice, Slovakia, using a multi-sensor and multi-scale framework that integrates Landsat-7/-8/-9, ECOSTRESS, a 10 m LCZ map, ENVI-met microclimate simulations, and in situ air/ground temperature loggers. The analysis focuses on summer 2022, contrasting heat-wave and non–heat-wave conditions, with heat waves defined as ≥3 consecutive days with daily maximum air temperature above the local 85th percentile, based on a 25-year Košice record. Landsat provides detailed spatial information on intra-urban thermal contrasts, whereas ECOSTRESS offers sub-daily sampling of diurnal LST variability. Across LCZ, compact and impervious zones—including industrial, dense mid-rise, and large low-rise—show the highest LST and SUHI intensities, up to +15 °C warmer than vegetated classes. Tree-dominated LCZs show substantial cooling through shading and evapotranspiration. Satellite-derived LST patterns agree reasonably well with in situ observations (RMSE 8–15 °C; bias −3 to −9 °C), show broadly consistent spatial patterns of multi-sensor thermal retrievals, though ECOSTRESS tends to underestimate extreme surface temperatures and smooth out fine-scale heterogeneity at street-canopy scales. ENVI-met simulations reveal persistent early-morning stability and weak ventilation in compact historical and mid-rise districts, consistent with elevated nocturnal heat retention. By combining LCZ mapping with multi-source LST and microclimate modelling, this study provides a transferable workflow for assessing SUHI dynamics in mid-sized Central European cities and evidence to target cooling measures in compact, highly impervious LCZs. • Among first studies to resolve diurnal LST/SUHI with Landsat, ECOSTRESS, in situ and ENVI-met. • First 10 m LCZ map for Košice (OA 89%, κ 0.88) enables fine-scale remote-sensing thermal analysis. • Fusion sharpens temporal coverage, spatial detail, and interpretation under (non-)heat-waves. • Compact, impervious LCZ 8/10 warmest: up to +15 °C vs vegetated zones; LST validated in situ. • Transferable RS workflow linking LCZ/morphology to thermal patterns in mid-sized cities.