Urban heat island analysis based on high resolution measurement data: A case study in Beijing.

• A high-resolution air temperature measurement was applied in Beijing CUHI research. • Discrepancies among LCZ properties impact the spatiotemporal pattern of CUHI. • The research reveals the effects of LCZ spatial pattern on regional air temperature. • Distinct mitigation strategies were put forward in four subareas in Beijing. Urban heat island (UHI) is a widely concerned urban climate which impacts billions of residents worldwide. Nevertheless, inadequate rigorous air temperature (T air) measurement has become an obstacle to UHI research and mitigation, especially in megacities like Beijing. In this study, we applied a 1-km hourly T air dataset interpolated from records of 521 stations in Beijing. The dataset enables us to analyze UHI patterns on a block scale and the impacts of landscapes combined with the local climate zones (LCZ) scheme. Our results indicate that: (1) T air and its temporal variation in each LCZ vary significantly, which are highly relevant to their morphology and thermal-radiative properties. (2) LCZ 1 and LCZ 2 have the highest nocturnal UHI intensities (UHII). Discrepancies among LCZs also cause various temporal variations in their UHII. (3) The spatial pattern of LCZs affects regional temperature. Area ratio and aggregation extent of LCZ 1&2 show significant positive correlations with regional temperature, while LCZ A&D&G have the opposite regularity. (4) Distinct mitigation strategies are put forward for each subarea in Beijing with various endowments of population and the LCZ structure. The study provides insight into Beijing UHI and plausible mitigation advice in megacities like Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]