Satellite-based SUHI analysis: a methodological review of current practices and standardisation challenges

Surface Urban Heat Islands (SUHI) represent a widely investigated urban phenomenon, yet the growing body of literature reveals persistent methodological fragmentation. This review analysed 562 peer-reviewed studies published between 2006 and 2024 through a structured assessment of satellite platforms and methods used to quantify SUHI intensity. The analysis confirms that Land Surface Temperature (LST) is central to SUHI research. Landsat (47%) and MODIS (39%) products dominate the literature. However, sensor differences and spatial resolution contribute to variability in reported SUHI intensity. Three major methodological categories emerge: (i) urban-rural LST differential approaches, the most widely adopted; (ii) statistical and spatial anomaly-detection methods, including LST-based thresholds; and (iii) modelling and machine-learning techniques, whose application has increased since 2019. By reorganizing the literature into these families and analysing their distribution across subregions, this review highlights context-dependent patterns influenced by vegetation, urban morphology, climate, and data availability. Overall, the field is characterized by both methodological consolidation and continued development. While established approaches provide operational robustness, inconsistencies in the definition of urban and rural reference areas and heterogeneous preprocessing strategies constrain interregional comparability. Strengthening methodological transparency and conceptual consistency will be essential to enhance the robustness, transferability, and policy relevance of satellite-based SUHI assessments.