Impact of Local Climate Zones on the Urban Heat and Dry Islands in Beijing: Spatial Heterogeneity and Relative Contributions

Based on the building height and density data on a 100-m resolution, hourly 2-m temperature and humidity data at 83 automatic weather stations, and gridded local climate zone (LCZ) data on a 120-m resolution in urban Beijing in 2020, this study first employs the semivariogram combined with building parameters to calculate spatial correlations and has identified an LCZ grid resolution of 500 m suitable for best usage of the available observation data. Then, how the spatially heterogeneous LCZs affect and contribute to the canopy urban heat island intensity (UHII) and urban dry island intensity (UDII) are quantitatively investigated. It is found that UHII is high in winter and low in summer with a unimodal diurnal variation while UDI is low in winter but high in summer with a bimodal diurnal variation. The LCZ with compact mid-rise (open high-rise) buildings exhibits the highest UHII (UDII), followed by the compact high-rise (compact low-rise), while the LCZ of scattered trees presents both the lowest UHII and the lowest UDII. The most significant difference in the UHII (UDII) among the nine LCZ types in the urban area of Beijing is 2.62°C (1.1 g kg⁻¹). Area-weighted averaging analysis reveals that the open mid-rise LCZ is the most significant contributor to the UHII (UDII), immediately followed by compact mid-rise (open low-rise), with the least contribution from bare rock or paved (scattered trees). The results also indicate that beyond the intrinsic physical properties of the LCZs of a city, their area proportions cannot be overlooked in evaluating their impact on the UHI and UDI. These quantitatively findings could help urban planners to create a livable urban climate and environment by adjusting the relevant land use.