IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i7p3117-d1625805.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Heat Waves on Diurnal Variability and Spatial Structure of Atmospheric and Surface Urban Heat Islands in Kraków, Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Monika J. Hajto

    (Institute of Meteorology and Water Management—National Research Institute, 30-215 Kraków, Poland
    Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland)

  • Jakub P. Walawender

    (Independent Climate Scientist and EO/GIS Expert, 63065 Offenbach am Main, Germany)

  • Anita Bokwa

    (Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland)

  • Mariusz Szymanowski

    (Institute of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wrocław, 50-137 Wrocław, Poland
    Deceased author.)

Abstract

The increasing number of heat wave (HW) days, combined with the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon, poses a threat to the health and comfort of city residents. This study investigates the impact of HWs on the diurnal cycles of intensity and spatial structure of the atmospheric UHI (AUHI) and surface UHI (SUHI). A comparative analysis is conducted on the simultaneous night–day variability of AUHI and SUHI intensities in Kraków in two 24 h summer periods: one representing normal summer conditions (Period W) and the other HW conditions (Period H). Evaluating sub-daily UHI patterns based on integrated in situ and satellite data is a relatively novel approach. This study utilizes (1) air temperature from 21 measurement points located in different local climate zones and vertical (altitude) zones; and (2) land surface temperature from six NOAA/AVHRR satellite images. The findings indicate that AUHI and SUHI intensities in Kraków were generally up to 3 °C higher at night and up to 3 °C lower during the daytime in Period H compared to Period W, particularly in the valley floor. These results provide valuable insights into the increased heat load risk due to the co-occurrence of UHI and HW, with implications for sustainable urban planning strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Monika J. Hajto & Jakub P. Walawender & Anita Bokwa & Mariusz Szymanowski, 2025. "The Impact of Heat Waves on Diurnal Variability and Spatial Structure of Atmospheric and Surface Urban Heat Islands in Kraków, Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-32, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:7:p:3117-:d:1625805
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/3117/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/3117/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jing Kong & Yongling Zhao & Jan Carmeliet & Chengwang Lei, 2021. "Urban Heat Island and Its Interaction with Heatwaves: A Review of Studies on Mesoscale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-26, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edson R. Marciotto & Marcos Vinicius Bueno de Morais, 2021. "Energetics of Urban Canopies: A Meteorological Perspective," J, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-19, October.
    2. Rakin Abrar & Showmitra Kumar Sarkar & Kashfia Tasnim Nishtha & Swapan Talukdar & Shahfahad & Atiqur Rahman & Abu Reza Md Towfiqul Islam & Amir Mosavi, 2022. "Assessing the Spatial Mapping of Heat Vulnerability under Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect in the Dhaka Metropolitan Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, April.
    3. Ante Seletković & Martina Kičić & Mario Ančić & Jelena Kolić & Renata Pernar, 2023. "The Urban Heat Island Analysis for the City of Zagreb in the Period 2013–2022 Utilizing Landsat 8 Satellite Imagery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-13, February.
    4. Zidong Zhao & Ruhai Ye & Yingyin Wang & Yiming Tao, 2022. "How Plot Spatial Morphology Drives Surface Thermal Environment: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Nanjing Main City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-26, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:7:p:3117-:d:1625805. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.