Decoding the seasonal variations in the synergistic effects of multidimensional urban morphology on carbon emissions and air temperature

Urban morphology plays an important role in regulating the thermal environment of and carbon emissions in urbanized regions. However, previous studies on this topic focused only on the mechanisms by which urban morphology affected the carbon emissions or air temperature in urban regions. This fragmented and limited perspective may lead to inefficient analysis, leading to high temperature-low carbon or low temperature-high carbon environments in urban morphology optimization. In this study, the synergistic relationship between carbon emissions and air temperature in different seasons and the influence mechanism of multidimensional urban morphology on the two were analyzed. The results revealed that the synergistic relationship between carbon emissions and air temperature showed seasonal variability, with the positive synergistic relationship being the strongest in summer and significantly negative in winter. Although the morphological parameters remained stable across seasons, the pathways and strengths of their effects on carbon emissions and air temperature differed significantly with the season. The same morphological parameters exhibited different environmental benefits in different seasons. In spring, summer, and autumn, with respect to the two-way feedback effect between carbon emissions and air temperature, the magnitude of the feedback strength showed the following order: summer > spring > autumn. In winter, only a weak unidirectional effect of carbon emissions on air temperature was noted. This study provides novel insights into the synergistic regulation of the “heat-carbon” dynamics in regions with high urbanization levels, serving as a framework for policymakers to develop effective strategies for urban heat island mitigation and urban planning.