Airborne surface temperature differences of the different Local Climate Zones in the urban area of a medium sized city

Abstract

This paper presents a case study about the surface temperature characteristics of the different Local Climate Zones (LCZ) in Szeged, Hungary. For the evaluation we apply high resolution surface temperature data acquired by a low-cost small-format digital imaging system, measured in early night hours. The map of Local Climate Zones for the study area is derived by an automatic GIS method for LCZ classification. The results show that the different LCZ classes have different surface temperature characteristics. Among the densely populated LCZ classes the open low-rise has the lowest surface temperature, thus it is can be the most favorable urban built-up type if the aim is the decrease the effect of the urban heat load.