The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect represents the relatively higher temperatures found in urban areas compared to surrounding rural areas owing to higher proportions of impervious surfaces and the release of waste heat from vehicles and heating and cooling systems. Paved surfaces and built structures tend to absorb shortwave radiation from the sun and release long-wave radiation after a lag of a few hours.
The Global Urban Heat Island (UHI) Data Set, 2013, estimates the land surface temperature within urban areas in degrees Celsius (average summer daytime maximum and average summer nighttime minimum) as well as the difference between those temperatures and the temperatures in surrounding rural areas, defined as a 10km buffer around the urban extent. Urban extents are from SEDAC's Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1), and land surface temperatures are from SEDAC's Global Summer Land Surface Temperature (LST) Grids, 2013, which are derived from the Aqua Level-3 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Version 5 global daytime and nighttime Land Surface Temperature (LST) 8-day composite data (MYD11A2).
For most regions, the UHI data set provides the average daytime maximum (1:30 p.m. overpass) and average nighttime minimum (1:30 a.m. overpass) temperatures in urban and rural areas, and the urban-rural temperature differences, derived from LST data representing a 40-day time-span during July-August (Julian days 185-224) in the northern hemisphere and January-February (Julian days 001-040) in the southern hemisphere. LST grid cells with missing values resulting from high cloud cover in tropical regions were filled with daytime maximum and nighttime minimum LST values from April-May 2013 in the northern hemisphere and December 2013-January 2014 in the southern hemisphere, where available. Some data gaps remain in areas where data were insufficient (e.g., Central Africa).
References: doi: 10.7927/H4H70CRF
The Global Summer Land Surface Temperature (LST) Grids, 2013, represent daytime maximum temperature and nighttime minimum temperature in degree Celsius at a spatial resolution of 30 arc-seconds (~1 km) during summer months of the northern and southern hemisphere for the year 2013. The grids are produced using Aqua Level-3 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Version 5 global daytime and nighttime LST 8-day composite data (MYD11A2).
For most regions, the LST grids provide the daytime maximum (1:30 p.m. overpass) and nighttime minimum (1:30 a.m. overpass) LST values for each grid cell from a 40-day time-span during July-August (Julian days 185-224) 2013 in the northern hemisphere and January-February (Julian days 001-040) 2013 in the southern hemisphere. LST grid cells with missing values resulting from high cloud cover in tropical regions were filled with daytime maximum and nighttime minimum LST values from April-May 2013 in the northern hemisphere and December 2013-January 2014 in the southern hemisphere, where available. Some data gaps remain in areas where data were insufficient (e.g., Central Africa).
The purpose of the data set is to provide raster representations of global summer daytime maximum and nighttime minimum surface temperature for studies related to human health and climate change.
References: doi: 10.7927/H408638T