The Difference Between Air and Surface Temperature in Urban Environments

The difference between air temperature and land surface temperature (LST) across New York City from 2003 to 2022 was analyzed using Automated Surface Observing Systems, NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and ground-based measurements of LST and air temperature. Using one-to-one plots that compared LST with air temperature at eight stations around the New York City region, LST differed the most from air temperature in the summer compared to the winter (slopes on the order of 0.5 instead of 0.9) and in urban locations compared to sub-urban/rural locations (slopes on the order of 0.8 instead of 1.0). Results from field campaigns yield more or less uniform air temperatures, which led to a relaxed LST vs. air temperature slope. More broadley, LST being greater than air temperature likely arises from anthropogenic energy in urban environments, which highlights the importance in socioeconomic decisions relating to land cover type.