Land surface temperature responses to land use dynamics in urban areas of Doha, Qatar

Rapid urbanization primarily converts naturally vegetated areas and pervious surfaces into impervious built-up areas, significantly transforming microclimates and ecological dynamics. The impervious surfaces, marked by their higher thermal conductivity, disrupt surface energy balance and accumulate solar heat, subsequently elevating the land surface temperatures (LSTs). This study investigates the impact of land use and land cover changes on summer and winter LSTs in Doha and Al Dayeen municipalities of Qatar, spanning from the years 2000 to 2023, using remote sensing techniques and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The analysis of land use and land cover changes reveals a remarkable 343.16% increase in the built-up area from 2000 to 2023, at the expense of previously existing desert lands and water bodies. While Qatar's desert land has high land surface temperature, substituting such areas with built-up exhibits a notable rise in temperatures. Additionally, land reclamation also results in elevated LSTs. The LST data derived from remote sensing sources demonstrates an upward trend for summer and a contrasting trend for winter. Specifically, the mean summer LST increases by 7.64°C (0.34°C annually), and the mean winter LST decreases by 4.87°C (0.22°C annually). Notably, built-up areas and desert lands consistently recorded the highest mean LST in both seasons in all observed years. A strong correlation was observed between summer and winter LST with land use and land cover patterns using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Normalized Difference Built-up index (NDBI) and Normalized Difference Barrenness Index (NDBal). The results imply the negative influence of climate change and the urgent need for urban planning mitigation measures to counteract the adverse effects of increasing LSTs, particularly in summer months, to ensure the human well-being and resilience of the urban environments.