Contributions of sea–land breeze and local climate zones to daytime and nighttime heat island intensity

Abstract

The acceleration of global urbanization has increased the frequency of the urban heat island (UHI) effect and heatwaves, which seriously endanger human health. We used Shenzhen as a case study to examine the daytime and nighttime differences in UHI intensity (UHII), considering different local climate zones (LCZs) and sea–land breezes. The diurnal UHII was >3 °C for 52% of the study period, whereas the nocturnal UHII was >3 °C for only 26% of the study period. The average diurnal and nocturnal building-type UHII values were 2.77 and 1.11 °C higher than those of the natural type, respectively. Sea breezes alleviated the UHI effect with a linear correlation coefficient of −0.68601 between them. Moreover, diurnal and nocturnal UHII showed differences across different gradients, which can help guide urban planning.