A comprehensive systematic review: Impact of Land Use/ Land Cover (LULC) on Land Surface Temperatures (LST) and outdoor thermal comfort

Abstract

Globally, urbanization-driven changes in Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) jeopardize Land Surface Temperatures (LSTs) and the outdoor thermal comfort of urban residents. While urban heat stress's impact on outdoor thermal comfort garners ample scholarly attention, research on the parallel influence of LULC remains limited. This paper comprehensively reviews prevalent tools for collecting LULC data, criteria for evaluating LST and outdoor thermal comfort, correlation measures and mitigation strategies. Focused on peer-reviewed publications from the last 25 years, our data is drawn from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Science Direct.Our findings reveal Landsat and geographic information systems (GIS) as predominant datasets and processing platforms for LULC and LST information delineation. Common outdoor thermal comfort indices include the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) and Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity (SUHII). Validation employs Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) and Pearson's correlation. Geographically, Asia and Africa feature prominently in studies, with Europe comparatively underrepresented. We also highlight key LULC mitigation strategies, including augmenting vegetation in moderate climates, effective albedo management in warmer climates, and optimizing urban layouts for enhanced outdoor thermal comfort.