Controls of Land Surface Temperature between and within Local Climate Zones: A Case Study of Harare in Zimbabwe

Urban growth-related changes in land use and land cover have segmented urban areas into zones of distinct surface and air temperatures (i.e., Local Climate Zones—LCZ). While studies have revealed inter-LCZ temperature variations, understanding controls of variations in Land Surface Temperature (LST) within LCZs has largely remained uninvestigated. In view of the need for LCZ-specific heat mitigation strategies, this study investigated factors driving LST variations within LCZs. To achieve this, an LCZ map for Harare was developed and correlated with LST, both derived using Landsat 8 data. The contribution index (CI) was then used to determine the relative contribution of LCZs to cooling and warming of the city. The contribution of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Bareness Index (NDBaI), Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI), Urban Index (UI), and Aspect and Elevation as quantitative measures of surface controls of LST were investigated between and within LCZs. LST generally increased with built-up density and reduced with increases in surface water and vegetation. The study showed that the cooling effect of water bodies was reduced in contribution to their insignificant proportion of the study area. At the city scale, NDVI, MNDWI, NDBI, and UI had the strongest influence on LST (correlation coefficient > 0.5). At the intra-LCZ scale, the contribution of these surface properties remained significant, though to varied extents. The study concluded that surface wetness is a significant cooling determinant in densely built-up LCZs, while in other LCZs, it combines with vegetation abundance and health to mitigate elevated surface temperature. Aspect and elevation had low but significant correlations with LST in most LCZs. The study recommends that intra-LCZ controls of LST must be considered in heat mitigation efforts.