Persistent heat islands monitoring of Tehran metropolis using temporal analysis of Landsat-8 satellite images

The management and design of urban areas in metropolises pose significant challenges. Balancing diverse land uses within a metropolitan structure and addressing spatial and environmental constraints are just some of these challenges. Urban heat islands, which stem from factors such as inappropriate construction materials, inadequate building insulation, improper land use locations, and unsuitable built-up density, reflect environmental imbalances within urban infrastructure. Effectively addressing these temperature discrepancies can lead to energy preservation, reduced environmental hazards, and enhanced comfort for urban residents. This study employed Landsat-8 satellite images to identify and monitor positive and convex temperature disparities across various districts of Tehran over 3 years (2018 to 2020) using three different strategies. These disparities are estimated through the differences in land surface temperature from the thermal trend of each district and their persistence has been assessed in seasonal, semi-annual, and annual strategies. The study found that industrial areas, including warehouses, were the significant contributors to the persistent presence of urban heat islands in summer and winter. Open areas with impervious surfaces or bare soil, particularly those lacking sufficient green cover, also significantly contributed to the heat island effect. Certain large shopping centers, often due to their air conditioning systems, were also consistently identified as persistent heat islands. Evaluations demonstrated that over 78.8% of the identified persistent heat islands were meaningful, with most located in the northern and western parts of Tehran. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.