Integrating Local Climate Zones, Landscape Metrics, and Remote Sensing in Understanding Contemporary Urban Thermal Dynamics in an Arid Metropolis in Qatar

Urban heat intensification is an increasing concern in rapidly urbanizing arid cities, where extreme climatic conditions intersect with expansive urban growth. This study examines the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban thermal patterns in the Doha metropolitan region, Qatar, by integrating multi-season remote sensing with urban morphological analysis. Seasonal composites of land surface temperature (LST), Urban Heat Island (UHI) intensity, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were derived from Landsat 8–9 Collection 2 Level-2 imagery across eight seasons from Spring 2024 to Winter 2026. Urban form was characterized using Local Climate Zones (LCZs) and quantified through class-level landscape metrics, i.e., Largest Patch Index (LPI), Number of Patches (NP), and CLUMPY. The results showed a pronounced seasonal variability, with LST ranging from approximately 12.5 °C in winter to 61.3 °C in summer, and intra-urban UHI exceeding 10 °C during peak conditions. The bare soil/sand, with relative coverage of 52.84% and LPI of 25.45%, and the large low-rise, with relative coverage of 38.60% and LPI of 14.70%, typologies dominate the landscape, forming highly aggregated spatial structures, while vegetation cover remained minimal. Weak negative relationships between NDVI and thermal indicators revealed that vegetation alone had limited explanatory power. In contrast, LCZ-based analysis revealed a better thermal differentiation across urban typologies, with compact forms associated with higher thermal intensities. These findings highlight the dominant role of urban morphology and spatial configuration in shaping thermal patterns and support the need for morphology-sensitive planning strategies in arid urban environments.