Measuring the Impact of Urban Morphology on Urban Ambient Temperature Changes

Abstract

In recent decades, urbanization and the rapid growth of industrialization have led to the release of high thermal energy and increased air pollution in the lower layers of the atmosphere. This has resulted in many changes in the meteorological variables of the boundary layer of the urban atmosphere. The present study attempts to investigate the morphological and physical factors affecting the urban temperature changes in the metropolis of Tehran, Iran. Through analytical research and statistical modeling, it highlights key factors such as building mass area percentage and street asphalt area, providing valuable insights for urban climate resilience strategies. In this study, the temperature map of Tehran was created using the remote sensing thermal mapping method and Landsat 8 satellite imagery. Based on the created map, the western part of Tehran was selected as the study area, and the physical and morphological indicators affecting the temperature in the city were determined based on documents and field studies. The empirical linear model findings indicate that the percentage of building mass area has the most influential role in reducing air temperature, with the most effective factor of −5.1, followed by the average width of passages and the percentage of street asphalt area as the second (2.8+) and third (2.6+) most influential factors, respectively, showing a positive correlation with an increase in air temperature.