1.

Introduction
It is a well-known fact that the air temperature may
vary greatly between different locations in urban areas.
In a review of urban heat island intensities Oke (1981)
reports magnitudes up to 12 C, and intra-urban air
temperature differences up to 9 C have been reported
recently (Spronken-Smith & Oke 1998, Upmanis et al.
1998, Svensson et al. 2002). These differences are clearly
of a magnitude that is important for application in
urban planning. Studies in North America and Sweden,
for example, show a change of up to 14kWh in daily net
energy load (Matsuura 1995) or a 20% change in yearly
energy consumption (Svensson & Eliasson 2002) due to
air temperature differences. Also human comfort in the
city is inuenced by intra-urban air temperature differ-
ences as shown, for example, by Jendritzky & Grtz
(1997), Matzarakis et al. (1999) and Friedrich et al.
(2001). Air temperature differences have an indirect
inuence on the air quality in urban areas through
changes in stability and the development of local wind
systems (e.g. Eliasson & Holmer 1990, Kuttler &
Romberg 1992, Eliasson & Upmanis 2000). There is no
doubt that the application of this knowledge is of
importance for urban planning and the integration of
climate and planning has been a subject of concern in
the international literature for a long time (e.g. Morgan
1960, Oke 1984, Givoni 1998). Nevertheless most
authors agree that climatic aspects have low impact in
the urban planning process (e.g. Oke 1984, Pielke &
Uliasz 1998, Mills 1999, Eliasson 2000). One reason for
this is that the data provided by climate researchers do
not always meet the demands of urban planners and
architects (Mills 1999). Climatologists have a tendency
to focus on nocturnal clear and calm weather condi-
tions while planners and architects are mostly inter-
ested in the average daytime conditions, when humans
are most active. Shortcomings are thus related to the
spatial and temporal availability of data. Short-term
studies during extreme weather conditions are, for
example, more common than long-term studies cover-
ing all weather conditions. Many studies also base their
results on data from a few point measurements while
studies of spatial variation are less frequent. If meteo-
rological data are to be of general use in planning appli-
cations, the differences have to be statistically signi-
cant for average weather conditions and not only a
result of carefully chosen data periods.
The results presented in this paper are part of a project
that aims to integrate climate knowledge in the urban
planning process through the development of a GIS-
based empirical model (Svensson et al. 2002). This par-
ticular paper focuses on a statistical analysis of spatial
air temperature variations and its relation to land use in
an urban area (Gteborg, Sweden). Measurements
show intra-urban air temperature differences of up to
9 C in the urban district and the main purpose is to
determine if these variations are statistically signicant.
First, the relative importance of surface cover for air
temperature variations in the area was tested with a
multiple regression analysis. Secondly, an analyse of
variance test were carried out to study whether
observed air temperature differences within different
land use/land cover categories were statistically signi-
cant during both day and night, under different
Meteorol. Appl. 10, 135149 (2003) DOI:10.1017/S1350482703002056
Spatial air temperature variations and urban land
use a statistical approach
I Eliasson & M K Svensson Laboratory of Climatology, Physical Geography, Earth Sciences
Centre, University of Gteborg, Box 460, SE-405 30, Gteborg, Sweden
Email: ingegard.eliasson@gvc.gu.se
Using a statistical approach this paper focuses on an analysis of spatial air temperature variations and their
relation to urban land use. The work is based on data collected during an 18-month period at 30 sites in Gteborg,
Sweden. Measurements show intra-urban air temperature differences of up to 9 C in the urban district, and the
main purpose of this study is to determine if these variations are statistically signicant. A stepwise multiple
regression analysis conrmed that surface cover is important for governing air temperature differences in the area.
Information on land use and surface cover was gathered from a continuously updated land use database, the
Master Plan of Gteborg, and a separate site description analysis. The site description analysis includes a test of
three methods using aerial or sh-eye photos for characterisation of surface cover in the urban district. The results
show statistically signicant temperature variations between different land use/land cover categories on a diurnal
basis and for all weather conditions. The importance of the results for urban planning application is discussed.
135
weather conditions and seasons. This included a site
description analysis to describe and characterise the
surface cover at the measurement sites. Three different
methods for characterisation of surface cover were
tested and evaluated in this paper and the results, com-
bined with land use information, were used to dene
the land use/land cover categories used in the analysis
of variance test.
2. Study area
The Gteborg urban district (72,200 ha and 500,000
inhabitants) is situated on the Swedish west coast in
Scandinavia (5742N, 1158E). Four broad, at val-
leys dominate the area and most of the built-up land is
located in the valley bottoms around 010 m. a. s. l.
(Figure 1). The coastline is irregular and borders an
archipelago with scattered small islands. The climate in
Gteborg is a typical maritime west coast climate with,
for its latitude, relatively warm winters and cool sum-
mers. The monthly mean temperature for Gteborg is
0.4 C in winter (DecemberFebruary) and 16.3 C in
summer (JuneAugust) for the 19611990 climatic
period (Vder och Vatten 2000).
3. Data
3.1. The database
The present analysis is based on air temperature mea-
surements over 18 months (September 1998March
2000) at 30 locations in Gteborg, Sweden (Figure 1).
The data show considerable variations within the urban
district under different seasons and weather conditions,
and on a diurnal basis (Svensson et al. 2002, Svensson &
Eliasson 2002, Svensson 2002). Table 1 shows the range
of temperature deviations at each station from the mean
of all stations during each hour within the urban area
during the measurement period. Data are divided into
time of day, weather and season.
Day and night: As mentioned above there is a focus on
nocturnal data in the literature and consequently a lack
of information on daytime conditions. Thus the main
analysis in this study is the comparison between day
and night conditions. The temperature deviation, from
the mean off all stations, at every station (on a seasonal,
monthly and daily basis) has been analysed for two sit-
uations, representing daytime and night time. The
choice of the daytime and night-time period are based
on a previous analysis (Svensson 2002) and information
found in the literature. Owing to Gteborgs high lati-
tude, the daylight lengths vary greatly throughout the
year. In the middle of June the day is approximately 16
hours long and in December about 6 hours long (and
vice versa for the night). In order to avoid seasonal
inuence, daytime is thus represented by solar noon
(1200 hours local winter time, UTC+0100 h) as this is
the time when the sun is near its highest position in the
sky. This time also corresponds to lunch-time when
people have the opportunity to be outdoors. This is
especially important during winter when the only
chance to get the some daylight (and counteract winter
depression) is to take a walk during the lunch break.
I Eliasson and M K Svensson
136
Figure 1. Map of the Gteborg urban district, Sweden, showing the extension of the built-up area, the altitude and the location
of the 30 measurement sites (Tiny-logger), as well as the location of the meteorological station, Sve Airport.
Night is represented by data taken three hours after
sunset as several earlier studies (e.g. Oke 1987,
Upmanis et al. 1998, Svensson et al. 2002) show that the
maximum temperature deviation occurs at that time.
Another advantage of this choice is that the seasonal
inuence (night length variation) is avoided.
Weather groups: Meteorological parameters are impor-
tant as shown by the many studies that examine the
development of the urban heat island (e.g. Sundborg
1951, Lindqvist 1970, Oke 1973, Park 1986, Kidder &
Essenwanger 1995). The common ndings from these
and other studies are that wind speed and cloud cover
are the main inuencing meteorological variables (see
summary in Upmanis & Chen 1999, Table 6). Many
studies focus their analysis on clear and calm weather
conditions as this type favours the largest variations in
temperature. However, this weather type is not very
frequent at most middle and high latitudes. In order to
get information on all weather types in the Gteborg
district the analysis includes a division of data into dif-
ferent weather groups. The division was based on wind
and cloud data from a permanent meteorological sta-
tion situated in the district (Sve airport, Figure 1).
Wind speed was divided into two groups being 3.3 m
s
1
and >3.3 m s
1
. The wind speed limit was chosen
from the Beaufort scale, which quanties wind in terms
of the effect on humans (Lee 1987). Two on the
Beaufort scale is 1.63.3 m s
1
and is the limit for weak
winds (SMHI 1989, Lindqvist 1991). Cloudiness was
divided into three classes: clear (02 octas), partly
cloudy (35 octas) and cloudy (68 octas). Table 2
shows the frequency of available data in each weather
group during the measuring period.
Seasons: The incoming solar radiation varies greatly at
the study area due to the high latitude and that results
in four distinct seasons. Indications that the seasonal
differences in energy balance inuences the processes
favouring intra-urban temperature differences have
been shown in earlier studies (Eliasson 1994). One part
of the analysis therefore comprises the seasonal aspect
such that Spring is March to May, summer is June to
August, autumn September to November and winter
December to February.
3.2. Instrumentation
The temperature stations (Tiny-logger, Gemini Data
loggers) were located in different types of land use
areas (Figure 1). The main purpose was that the num-
ber of stations in a specic land use should correlate to
the area size of that specic category. Sensors were
located at sites that were representative for the land use
but in an open location to avoid disturbance of site-
specic obstacles such as house facades. Figure 2 shows
typical examples of measurement sites for the ve land
use/land cover categories used in the analysis of vari-
ance test. The sh-eye photographs were captured at
the exact location of the sensor, at 2 m height above the
ground.
The sensor is a 10k NTC thermistor (encapsulated)
with a time constant (63%) in air of 11 minutes. The
sensor accuracy is 0.2 C from 0 C to 70 C and the
resolution of the system is 0.03 C at 25 C, according
to the manufacturer. The Tiny-loggers were intercom-
pared for instrumental differences in a climate chamber
Air temperature variations and urban land use
137
Table 1. Statistics describing the air temperature differences (C) within the area, i.e. the temperature deviation at
each station from the mean of all stations during each hour. The data are divided into different weather groups: A
(clear, calm), B (clear, windy), C (cloudy, calm) and D (cloudy, windy). A dash () indicates data that are missing
due to technical problems or non-occurrence during the 18-month measuring period.
Day Night
1200 hours 3 hours after sunset
N Min Max Range Mean Median N Min Max Range Mean Median
Autumn A 54 2.04 4.77 6.81 0.00 0.24 336 4.17 4.86 9.03 0.00 0.01
B 140 3.00 3.19 6.19 0.00 0.12 54 5.16 4.24 9.40 0.00 0.29
C 400 1.76 2.91 4.67 0.00 0.04 438 2.82 3.36 6.18 0.00 0.03
D 842 1.85 1.56 3.41 0.00 0.03 540 1.69 1.28 2.97 0.00 0.01
Winter A 110 6.09 3.32 9.41 0.00 0.01 84 4.66 4.21 8.87 0.00 0.03
B 29 1.02 1.23 2.25 0.00 0.01 111 5.89 2.83 8.72 0.00 0.03
C 472 2.08 2.27 4.35 0.00 0.01 532 2.34 2.35 4.69 0.00 0.02
D 1382 1.74 1.44 3.18 0.00 0.05 924 2.16 1.69 3.85 0.00 0.03
Spring A 122 5.90 4.98 10.88 0.00 0.10 483 4.81 5.73 10.54 0.00 0.18
B 152 2.25 4.46 6.71 0.00 0.01 0 0.00
C 184 2.38 3.30 5.68 0.00 0.01 459 2.82 2.39 5.21 0.00 0.02
D 1289 4.10 2.68 6.78 0.00 0.04 890 1.87 2.62 4.49 0.00 0.04
Summer A 0 0.00 332 4.17 4.86 9.03 0.00 0.03
B 0 0.00 54 5.16 4.24 9.40 0.00 0.29
C 118 2.27 1.76 4.03 0.00 0.02 438 2.82 3.36 6.18 0.00 0.03
D 470 1.99 2.65 4.64 0.00 0.02 540 1.69 1.28 2.97 0.00 0.01
before the eld measurements started and after one
year of measurements. The climate chamber is capable
of maintaining a constant temperature to an accuracy of
0.1 C. The instruments were tested for temperatures
ranging from +20 C to 18 C. The inter-comparison
showed that all Tiny-loggers ran together in a narrow
interval with a maximum range of 0.5 C. The largest
differences, i.e. 0.5 C, occurred only in temperatures
below 10 C. To avoid systematic differences between
stations the Tiny-loggers were moved between the dif-
ferent sites approximately every second month as data
were collected. The Tiny-logger instruments were shel-
tered with radiation shields constructed of black and
silver coloured plastic pipes with radii of 90 mm. These
were mounted at a height of approximately 2 m. The
radiation shields are constructed as chimneys so that,
as the air in the black part of the radiation shield is
warmed and rises, the ventilation and the amount of air
owing through increases (Svensson 2002).
Wind speed/direction and cloud amount from one
permanent meteorological station was also used (Sve
airport, Figure 1). Wind is measured at 10 m height
with a Vaisala wind anemometer (accuracy 0.1 m s
1
,
threshold 0.4 m s
1
) and a Vaisala wind vane (accuracy
3, 0.3 m s
1
). Cloud cover is measured in octas (0/8 to
8/8) with mobile cloud cover equipment (CMBE).
3.3. Land use
Land use information has been extracted from the Master
Plan, an ofcial policy document available from the City
Planning Authority in Gteborg. The Master Plan is used
at the comprehensive planning level to show the present
land use in the municipality. It includes a land use classi-
cation that shows the function of different parts of the
municipality. The present digitised Master Plan includes
12 land use classes (urban dense, multi-family, single
houses, working premises etc, industries etc, larger insti-
tutions, recreation, impermeable, cemeteries, agricultural,
other green, water). The Master Plan classication, in
combination with site descriptions of the temperature
stations, has been used to dene the land use/land cover
categories used in the analysis of variance test.
3.4. Statistics
Two statistical methods were applied, one stepwise
multiple regression analysis and an analysis of variance
test. Temperature anomalies, calculated as the tempera-
ture deviation at every station from the mean of all
stations during each hour, were used in the statistical
analysis (Shudo et al. 1997). The multiple regression
analysis was performed to determine the relative effect
of surface cover on the temperature pattern. The choice
of independent variables was based on a literature
survey in order to cover the most important processes.
I Eliasson and M K Svensson
138
Table 2. The frequency of available data in each weather group during the measurement period.
(a) Daytime data collected at 1200 h, and (b) nighttime data from 3 h after sunset. Sunset varies with month.
Data that are missing due to technical problems or not occurring during the 18 months measuring period are
shown by a dash ().
a)
Day Wind (m s
1
) 02 (octas) 35 (octas) 68 (octas) Total
Autumn 3.3 2 7 14 23
> 3.3 5 21 32 58
Winter 3.3 4 10 13 27
> 3.3 1 12 53 66
Spring 3.3 3 3 4 10
> 3.3 6 21 44 71
Summer 3.3 6 3 9
> 3.3 22 17 39
Total 21 102 180
b)
Night Wind (m s
1
) 02 (octas) 35 (octas) 68 (octas) Total
Autumn 3.3 11 18 16 45
> 3.3 3 14 20 37
Winter 3.3 3 16 13 32
> 3.3 4 18 39 61
Spring 3.3 16 11 7 34
> 3.3 8 36 44
Summer 3.3 7 13 8 28
> 3.3 9 12 21
Total 44 107 151
As mentioned above, most studies regard the weather
conditions as most important and this parameter was
incorporated in the present analysis through the divi-
sion of data into weather groups.
Altitude is an important parameter governing tempera-
ture differences on both local and regional scales (e.g.
Laughlin 1982, Thornes 1989, Ninyerola et al. 2000,
Postgrd 2000).
The distance to large water bodies is another parameter
that has been found to be equal in importance to alti-
tude in several studies (Carrega 1995, Tveito & Frland
1999). Earlier studies in Sweden conrm the inuence
of the sea on the urban temperature pattern (Lindqvist
& Mattsson 1989, Svensson et al. 2002).
Surface cover has been shown to be very important for
urban temperature variations (e.g. Katayama 1992,
Alcoforado 1994, 1998, Heisler et al. 1994, Shudo et al.
1997, Vogt et al. 1997, Upmanis et al. 1998).
4. Characterisation of surface cover and land
use/land cover categories
4.1. Site description analysis
The site description analysis includes a test of three
methods based on aerial and sh-eye photographs from
which the percentage of different surface coverings at
each temperature station was calculated.
From aerial photos (scale 1:15 000) surface characteristics
Air temperature variations and urban land use
139
Figure 2. Fish-eye photographs showing typical examples of the ve land use/land cover categories used in the statistical analy-
sis and described in Table 3: (a) urban dense, (b) multi-family, (c) single houses, (de) other built-up, and (f) green.
were determined within a circle. A 100 m radius, earlier
used by Alcoforado (1994, 1998), represents the inu-
ence from the nearest surroundings (~1 block). In order
to test if a larger fetch area would improve the analysis
a comparison was made with data from a circle with a
radius of 500 m (~5 blocks). The method assumes that
the surface is spatially homogeneous within the circle
and/or that over time the variation of wind direction
will create spatial averaging (Grimmond & Souch
1994). Percentages of the following ve surface cate-
gories were determined: built-up, impermeable, vegeta-
tion, water bodies and urban vegetation. The last cate-
gory includes both vegetation and buildings that are
difcult to separate from each other. This close mix of
vegetation and buildings is common in Sweden.
Fish-eye photographs were used to determine the sky-
view factor (SVF) as well as the percentage of vegetation
and impervious surfaces for each temperature station
(Heisler et al. 1994). Impervious surfaces were chosen as
a group which included all types of articial surfaces
(pavement, buildings, etc.) in the sh-eye photographs.
The sh-eye photos were captured at every station with
a Nikon 8 mm sh-eye lens at the height of the temper-
ature sensor (2 m above ground). The digital images
were processed by the raster based and commercially
available software IDRISI (Clark University 1999). The
sky-view factor was nally calculated according to a
GIS based method developed by Holmer et al. (2001).
A tool for measuring area units (Leica digital Planimeter,
Placom) was used for calculation of the percentages of
different surface coverings in both aerial and sh-eye
photographs. Information about altitude, distance from
the sea and distance from the city centre for each tem-
perature station were determined from the topographical
map (1:50 000).
4.2. Denition of land use/land cover categories
from the Master Plan
An analysis of variance was made in order to test if the
12 land use classes found in the Master Plan could be dif-
ferentiated on the basis of temperature data. The results
showed that the air temperature deviations in land use
classes urban dense, multi-family and single houses,
could be differentiated on a statistical basis. For the other
land use classes no statistical differences were found. The
site description analysis (Table 3) conrms results from
the analysis of variance that those land use classes which
could not be statistically differentiated from others
based on temperature differences showed a uniform sur-
face covering. Based on results from the statistical and
site description analysis the original land use classes were
thus grouped into ve, more uniform categories (Table
3). The Master Plan classes for cemeteries (9), agriculture
(10) and other green (11), which all have the same pro-
portion of surface characteristics, were grouped into the
green category (new category no. 16, Table 3). The new
category other built-up (no. 15, Table 3) consists of the
old Master Plan land use classes: working premises, etc.
(4), industries, etc. (5), and recreation (8). The ve cate-
gories resulting from this procedure (Table 3) have thus
been dened on the basis of the surfaces function and
form and are hereafter referred to as land use/land cover
categories (Figures 2 and 3).
I Eliasson and M K Svensson
140
Figure 3. The distribution of the ve land use/land cover categories used in the statistical analysis. The inner city of Gteborg,
2% of the total area, is characterised by the category urban dense which has the least vegetation cover and consequently the
largest part (>70 %) of built-up and impervious surfaces. The amount of greenery increases with distance from the city centre
through areas with multi-family (9%) buildings and single houses (9%). The category other built-up makes up 11% of the
total area, and 69% of the urban district is classied as green areas.
Air temperature variations and urban land use
141
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5. Multiple regression analysis
Multiple regression analysis was performed to deter-
mine the relative effect of parameters related to land use
as well as other parameters on the temperature pattern.
The analysis was performed on three data sets:
monthly, seasonal and single days. The independent
variables were altitude, distance from sea, distance from
city centre, SVF at 2 m height and measures of surface
covering determined from sh-eye or aerial pho-
tographs (Table 4).
5.1. Diurnal variations on a monthly basis
In order to verify/detect possible diurnal patterns in
explaining factors and to examine if the coefcient of
determination (R
2
) varied during the day, multiple
regression analyses were developed for each hour on a
monthly basis. The mean air temperature deviation for
each hour during clear/calm and cloudy/windy situa-
tions respectively was used in the analyses. Results
based on data from May 1999, a month that included all
weather types, are shown in Table 5. The results pre-
sented in Table 5 are based on data from the three clas-
sication methods (sh-eye or aerial photos). As
shown, the results were not affected much by the
choice of classication method. However, the classi-
cation made from aerial photographs (500m) usually
gave the highest R
2
coefcients especially during
cloudy/windy situations.
Table 5 shows that the highest coefcients were found
during the night and the lowest in the middle of the
day, especially during cloudy/windy conditions, except
during winter. Lower air stability during daytime and
cloudy, windy conditions is a possible explanation. In
general, the explanation factor was greater during
cloudy and windy situations with a maximum coef-
cient of determination of 0.72 at 0100 hours. The gen-
eral pattern during windy and cloudy conditions is,
rst, that altitude explains most of the variance in tem-
perature and, second, that different surface coverings
usually per cent built-up area (or with the sh-eye
photo classication, per cent impervious) explains the
rest (see Table 5). During clear and calm situations dis-
tance from sea explains most of the temperature vari-
ance, with SVF or surface cover (per cent vegetation or
built-up) explaining the rest. The best linear t during
clear and calm situations occurs at 1400 hours
(R
2
=0.70).
In summary the multiple regression analysis based on
data from each hour during a month shows that dis-
tance from sea, sky-view factor and surface cover (per
cent built-up or impervious) generally explains most of
the variance within the area during clear, calm situa-
tions. Altitude, surface cover (usually per cent built-up
or impervious) and distance from sea explain most of
the variance during cloudy, windy situations. In stable
conditions (clear and calm) the closest environment is
more important. For example, distance from sea, SVF
and type of surface covering have more inuence on
the temperature pattern.
5.2. Seasonal variation
Seasonal temperature variation was analysed with the
18 months of data divided into four weather classes:
A) clear and calm situations (2 octas and 3.3 m s
1
),
B) clear and windy situations (2 octas and >3.3 m s
1
),
C) cloudy and calm situations (6 octas and 3.3 m s
1
)
and D) cloudy and windy situations (6 octas and
>3.3 m s
1
).
The results are presented in Table 6 and indicate that
temperature variations are more dependent on weather
than season. The best correlation was found for clear,
calm conditions (A) independent of season. One major
exception to this is during winter daytime when the
best correlation (independent of characterisation
method) is found during cloudy, windy situations (D).
The likely reason is the small amount of data obtained
for this situation (Table 2). Stronger relationships are
generally found for night-time data. During clear, calm
(A) and clear, windy (B) conditions distance from sea
and surface cover are important. With cloudy, calm (C)
weather, altitude is most important during daytime and
at night surface cover. During cloudy, windy (D) con-
ditions altitude explains most of the variance during
both day and night and secondly surface cover except
during daytime in summer and spring when distance
from the sea is more important. The correlation is,
however, very low in summer and spring during
cloudy, windy situations (D).
I Eliasson and M K Svensson
142
Table 4. Independent variables used in the stepwise
multiple regression analysis. Surface characteristics
listed in the table are derived from aerial photographs
(scale 1:15 000). The percentage of each surface cover
has been calculated using a circle of radius 100 m and
500 m from the temperature station. Surface
characterisations from the sh-eye photographs are
limited to the percentage of impervious and vegetated
surfaces respectively (marked by *).
Parameters
Altitude (m. a. s. l.)
Distance from sea (km)
Distance from city centre (km)
Sky view factor at sensor height (m)
*Vegetated surface (%)
*Impermeable/impervious surface (%)
Built-up surface (%)
Built-up surface with vegetation (%)
Water bodies (%)
5.3. Single days
Earlier studies have shown a strong relationship
between air temperature and surface cover during
single days or groups of days with specic weather
conditions (e.g. Katayama 1992, Alcoforado 1998).
Days representing specic weather conditions were
therefore selected from the 18-month database. The
selection was based on the weather conditions recorded
at Sve airport (Figure 1). Air temperature data for a
specic hour (1200 h or 3 h after sunset) during a single
day together with data on surface covering determined
from the aerial photographs and sh-eye photographs
were used in a multiple regression analysis. Generally
these results showed strong statistical relationships and
high coefcients of determination. Table 7 shows the
results for the 500 m radius aerial photographs classi-
cation. Stronger correlations are more frequent at night
time than during the day although the highest coef-
cient of determination (R
2
=0.86) among these single
occasions is found during the day.
6. Analysis of variance test
The multiple regression analysis veried that surface
cover and SVF are important for governing air temper-
ature variations. In order to test if air temperature
could be differentiated on the basis of the aggregated
land use/land cover categories (Table 3), an analysis of
variance was performed. Indirectly this was also a test
of the temperature stations ability to represent specic
categories in the land use/land cover database (Master
Plan). The analysis of variance test was made separately
for each weather group. A normal distribution of the
temperature data was assumed and the physical proper-
ties in each category were assumed to be similar when
performing the analysis of variance test. The null
hypothesis tested was no signicant differences in
temperature exist between the categories and a 5 per
cent level of signicance was chosen prior to the test.
Data were analysed for days (12 h) and nights (3 h after
sunset) with three cloud groups (02, 35 or 68 octas)
and two wind groups (3.3 m s
1
or >3.3 m s
1
). The
results, presented in Table 8, show that statistically
Air temperature variations and urban land use
143
Table 5. Stepwise multiple regression analysis to determine the relative effect of land use/land cover and other
parameters on the temperature pattern for each hour during one month (May 1999). The analysis is based on data
from sh-eye photographs (SVF) and aerial photographs with a radius of 100 m and 500 m respectively. In the
table the coefcient of determination (R
2
) is shown for the three different classication methods used and for two
weather groups (clear, calm; and cloudy, windy). Bold letters show the feature explaining the variance, i) rst
factor and ii) second factor. Bold letters are used for the following parameters; per cent impervious (I), built-up
(B), vegetation (V), urban vegetation (UV), water (W) and SVF (S), altitude (A), distance from sea (DS) and
distance from city centre (DC). For example, during clear, calm conditions, at 0100 h, the R
2
value is 0.59 and per
cent impervious explains 36 % of the correlation and distance from sea explains the rest up to 51 % (i.e. 15 %).
Clear and Calm Cloudy and Windy
(2 octas and 3.3 m s
1
) (>6 octas and >3.3 m s
1
)
Hour R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
(SVF) i ii (100m) i ii (500m) i ii (SVF) i ii (100m) i ii (500m) i ii
0100 0.59 I36 DS51 0.55 DS27 S48 0.56 DS27 S48 0.64 A49 I64 0.66 A48 B64 0.72 A48 B62
0200 0.55 I32 0.52 DS26 S46 0.53 DS26 S46 0.46 A35 I46 0.56 A38 B53 0.60 A38 B51
0300 0.60 I30 0.51 DS24 S44 0.51 DS24 S44 0.60 A47 I60 0.63 A44 B61 0.66 A44 B59
0400 0.54 DS26 S46 0.51 DS28 S45 0.52 DS28 S45 0.27 A21 I25 0.32 A22 B31 0.33 A22 B29
0500 0.46 DS28 S41 0.43 DS29 S39 0.43 DS29 S39 0 52 A42 I51 0.55 A40 B53 0.58 A40 B51
0600 0.31 DS27 DC30 0.33 DS27 DC33 0.36 DS27 DC33 0.54 A46 I54 0.58 A45 B56 0.63 A45 V55
0700 0.38 S15 0.33 S16 DS25 0.30 S16 DS25 0.52 A48 I52 0.55 A46 B54 0.62 A46 V53
0800 0.31 S26 V31 0.28 S25 B28 0.33 S25 UV29 0.43 A43 I44 0.47 A41 B44 0.50 A41 B44
0900 0.18 A6 0.18 A4 DS9 0.16 B5 0.40 A38 V40 0.28 A33 B35 0.39 A33 B35
1000 0.23 S16 0.33 B15 S22 0.48 W21 B33 0.20 A15 DS17 0.19 A13 B16 0.22 A13 B16
1100 0.25 DS18 DC25 0.38 DS19 DC29 0.42 DS19 W33 0.15 A12 DS15 0.13 A10 DS13 0.16 A10 W14
1200 0.43 DS28 DC37 0.54 DS31 UV42 0.52 DS31 UV42 0.10 A7 DS10 0.10 A6 W9 0.13 A6 W9
1300 0.34 DS34 DC36 0.44 DS36 UV44 0.36 DS36 DC39 0.12 A8 DS12 0.13 A8 DS11 0.14 A8 DS11
1400 0.63 DS63 A65 0.70 DS65 UV70 0.65 DS65 W66 0.11 A10 DS11 0.09 A8 DS9 0.11 A8 V9
1500 0.14 A12 DS14 0.10 A9 DS11 0.10 A10 DS11
1600 0.34 DS23 S34 0.32 DS23 S32 0.40 DS23 S32 0.11 A10 DS11 0.09 A8 DC9 0.11 A8 V29
1700 0.36 DS22 S36 0.45 DS24 S36 0.44 DS24 S36 0.20 A19 DC20 0.29 A27 B29 0.29 A27 B24
1800 0.15 S15 V17 0.21 S13 B21 0.16 S13 B16 0.20 A20 DC20 0.24 A22 B24 0.24 A22 V36
1900 0.24 A6 DS15 0.34 V16 DS23 0.20 A1 DS20 0.34 A29 I33 0.39 A29 B38 0.40 A29 B45
2000 0.37 A21 0.55 V38 UV45 0.45 V33 A42 0.45 A34 I45 0.51 A34 B48 0.53 A34 B53
2100 0.51 I39 S46 0.58 DC31 0.55 V37 B47 0.53 A40 I52 0.59 A40 B55 0.59 A40 B34
2200 0.57 I41 DS54 0.59 DC28 DS46 0.59 V34 B46 0.30 A25 I30 0.37 A26 B36 0.38 A26 B45
2300 0.56 I41 DS53 0.55 B28 0.56 B30 0.47 A31 I44 0.53 A31 B48 0.55 A31 B49
0000 0.57 I39 DS52 0.54 S27 DS48 0.56 B28 0.50 A36 I47 0.55 A36 B49 0.61 A36
signicant temperature differences between the land
use/land cover categories, in general, are more frequent
during the night than during the day.
At night urban dense, other built-up and green areas
have, with few exceptions, different temperature pat-
terns compared to the other categories (Table 8).
During windy, clear nocturnal situations few differ-
ences exist between the categories and only urban
dense and single houses are different from multi-family
and green. This weather group (windy, clear) is, how-
ever, not common during the measurement period
(Table 2).
Considering daytime in general, the analyses showed
that signicant temperature differences between the
I Eliasson and M K Svensson
144
Table 6. Stepwise multiple regression analysis using seasonal data. The analysis is based on data from sh-eye
photographs (SVF) and aerial photographs with radii of 100 m and 500 m respectively. Data (temperature
deviation for each measuring station) are divided into the following weather groups: clear, calm (A), clear, windy
(B), cloudy, calm (C) and cloudy, windy (D) See Table 5 for more information on the table. Bold letters show the
feature explaining the variance, i) rst factor and ii) second factor. Bold letters are used for the following
parameters; per cent impervious (I), built-up (B), vegetation (V), urban vegetation (UV), water (W) and SVF (S),
altitude (A), distance from sea (DS) and distance from city centre (DC). For N values see Table 1.
Day (1200 h)
N R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
R
2
(SVF) i ii (100 m) i ii (500 m) i ii
Autumn A 54 0.54 S17 I40 0.17 S17 0.17 S17
B 140 0.49 DS25 V38 0.27 DS25 UV27 0.25 DS25
C 400 0.31 V17 A25 0.27 A14 S22 0.28 V16 B22
D 842 0.29 A23 V28 0.27 A23 B26 0.28 A23 V25
Summer A 110
B 29
C 472 0.30 A13 I22 0.23 A13 DC20 0.24 A13 DC20
D 1382 0.17 A6 DS12 0.12 A6 DS12 0.12 A6 DS12
Spring A 122 0.54 DS47 V50 0.50 DC47 UV50 0.52
B 152 0.42 DS28 S33 0.37 DS28 S33 0.38
C 184 0.09 A9 0.09 A9 0.09
D 1289 0.26 A20 DS24 0.26 A20 DS24 0.27
Winter A 0 0.14 A4 V10 0.09 A4 B9 0.15 I8 B12
B 0 0.17 DC17 0.17 DC17 0.29 DC17 I29
C 118 0.15 A9 V12 0.16 A9 B14 0.16 V10 B14
D 470 0.40 A33 I37 0.41 A33 B39 0.42 A33 B39
Night (3 hours after sunset)
N R
2
R
2
R
2
(SVF) i ii (100 m) i ii (500 m) i ii
Autumn A 336 0.54 I31 DS45 0.53 DS26 B42 0.51 A26 S39
B 54 0.49 DS49 0.49 DS49 0.49 DS49
C 438 0.35 I23 DS34 0.37 B21 DS35 0.35 DS20 B32
D 540 0.47 A34 I42 0.48 A34 B44 0.46 A34 B41
Summer A 84 0.54 I31 DS45 0.53 DS26 B42 0.51 DS26 S39
B 111 0.49 DS49 0.49 DS49 0.49 DS49
C 532 0.35 I23 DS34 0.37 I21 DS35 0.35 DS20 B32
D 924 0.47 A34 I42 0.50 A34 B44 0.46 A34 B41
Spring A 483 0.59 I37 DS51 0.57 B26 DS44 0.57 B28 DS44
B 0
C 459 0.34 I26 A31 0.36 DC21 B29 0.35 DC21 A28
D 890 0.47 A33 I46 0.50 A33 B46 0.49 A33 B44
Winter A 332 0.50 DS35 I48 0.52 DS35 B49 0.51 DS35 B47
B 54 0.30 DS30 0.37 DS31 V34 0.33 DS30 V33
C 438 0.42 I29 A39 0.46 B24 A41 0.44 B25 A39
D 540 0.38 A26 I36 0.38 A26 B35 0.38 A26 B35
categories are more frequent during cloudy conditions,
independent of wind speed. As seen in Table 8 the tem-
perature recorded during daytime situations with 68
octas is different in all categories a spatial temperature
pattern exists that corresponds to the land use/land
cover map (Figure 3). The opposite is seen during clear
and calm daytime situations where no statistically sig-
nicant differences in temperature are recorded in the
area (Table 8). The amount of data used in these situa-
tions is, however, much smaller since clear days do not
occur as frequently during the measurement period
(Table 2).
The results from the analysis veried that weather
characteristics are important for prediction of air tem-
perature differences between the categories. The results
conrm that statistically signicant temperature differ-
ences exist between densely built-up areas, large open
areas and green areas during windy and cloudy situa-
tions both day and night. The categories urban dense,
other built-up and green have a statistically signicant
different temperature pattern during both day and
night while during the day multi-family and single
houses are also different on the 5% level (Table 8).
A seasonal parameter was nally added in the analysis
of variance test to see if there were any variations
between the different seasons. The analyses did not
show any major differences from the results presented
on a yearly basis.
7. Discussion
7.1. Parameters important for temperature
differentiation
The stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that
parameters related to surface cover are important for
governing temperature variations in the Gteborg
urban area. Other important parameters were altitude,
distance from sea and sky-view factor. The effect of dif-
ferent surface coverings on the energy balance and con-
sequently on the temperature pattern is more pro-
nounced during clear and calm weather with high air
stability. Windy and cloudy conditions smooth out
these differences, making other parameters, such as alti-
tude and distance from sea (day) or surface cover
(night), more important.
Several studies, performed in corresponding climatic
zones, have pointed out the role of altitude during
cloudy weather conditions (e.g. Laughlin 1982,
Thornes 1989, Postgrd 2000). A high correlation
between altitude and air temperature for cloudy and
windy situations has also been reported by Bogren
et al. (2000) who presents data from 32 temperature
stations.
Land use/land cover parameters have also proved to be
an important parameter in several studies (e.g.
Katayama 1992, Alcoforado 1994,1998, Heisler et al.
1994, Shudo et al. 1997, Vogt et al. 1997). Early morn-
ing car traverses in summer in Fukuoka, Japan showed
that articial covering explained 63% of the air tem-
perature variation (Katayama 1992), a value compara-
ble with the general results presented in this paper.
Alcoforado (1998) found that a parameter describing
distance to main streets and the product between the
sky-view factor and percentage of built-up area
explained 74% of the temperature differences in Lisbon
(Portugal) for the average of ve nights with high-pres-
sure conditions. These results are comparable with the
coefcient of determination of 0.78 that was calculated
in this study for a single day with similar weather con-
ditions (Table 7).
Distance to city centre does not, however, explain a
large part of the variations in Gteborg. This is proba-
bly due to the typical north European green city struc-
ture found in Gteborg. Even though the site descrip-
tion analysis revealed a progressive transition of land
characteristics, with increasing greenery from the
urban dense areas through multi-family and single
house areas (Table 3, Figure 3) the differences are prob-
ably not large enough to create an effect that could be
explained by the parameter distance to city centre, i.e.
other parameters related to land use and distance to sea
are more important. The choice of representative mea-
surement points is, of course, also important.
The results showed that the correlation was slightly
lower when using longer data periods compared to sin-
gle occasions or groups of days with the same weather
type (Alcoforado 1994). This points to the difculties
of making generalisations based on specic data peri-
ods. Single measurements, during specic weather situ-
ations, are often assumed to represent average condi-
tions. The results in this paper are based on a large
Air temperature variations and urban land use
145
Table 7. The determination coefcients (R
2
) from the
stepwise multiple regression analysis performed on air
temperature data from a specic hour during a single
day together with data on surface covering determined
from aerial photographs with a radius of 500 m.
Weather conditions: A) clear, calm; B) clear, windy; C)
cloudy, calm; and D) cloudy, windy.
Weather Julian R
2
Cloud cover Wind speed
group day (octas) (m s
1
)
Day A 92 0.65 1 1.0
(noon) B 79 0.86 2 6.2
C 73 0.50 8 0.0
D 66 0.72 8 15.5
Night A 29 0.76 2 0.5
(3 h after B 11 0.78 1 4.1
sunset) C 80 0.76 8 1.0
D 129 0.82 8 5.2
amount of data and the lower correlations are an effect
of the large variation within each weather group since
extreme events are mixed with more average days in the
18-month data period.
Covariation between the chosen independent variables
may cause problems in the analysis. The emphasis in
the present study was on the correlation between air
temperature and possible explaining factors, but
covariation still needs to be mentioned. Further inland
the elevation increases and intuitively this indicates
problems. A parameter that included a possible covari-
ation between altitude and distance from coast was
tested as an independent variable and included in the
regression analysis with little or no result (Eliasson &
Svensson, unpublished results). The reason is found in
I Eliasson and M K Svensson
146
Table 8. Result from the analysis of variance test with data divided into time of day and weather group.
Signicant air temperature differences on the 5% level are indicated with an asterisk (*). The head of the table
shows the ve land use/land cover categories and these categories are also present vertically in the left column. For
example, in the upper-left corner of the table the asterisks show that the temperature in category 1, urban dense, is
signicantly different from that of the other categories at night. The temperature in category 2, multi-family, is
different from that in category 15 and 16 (other built-up and green) and so on. N is the amount of data used in
the test..
Land use/land cover category
Night Day
1 2 3 15 16 1 2 3 15 16
Calm and clear 1 * * * * *
3.3 m s
1
02 octas 2 * *
3 *
Night N=1102 15 *
Day N=285 16
Calm and partly cloudy 1 * * * * * * * *
3.3 m s
1
35 octas 2 *
3 *
Night N=1857 15 * * *
Day N=902 16
Calm and cloudy 1 * * * * * * * *
3.3 m s
1
68 octas 2 * * *
3 * *
Night N=1692 15 * * * *
Day N=1173 16
Windy and clear 1 * * *
> 3.3 ms
1
02 octas 2 *
3 * * *
Night N=164 15
Day N=320 16 *
Windy and partly cloudy 1 * * * * *
> 3.3 m s
1
35 octas 2 * * *
3 * * * *
Night N=1186 15 * * *
Day N=2023 16
Windy and cloudy 1 * * * * * * * *
>3.3 m s
1
68 octas 2 * * *
3 * *
Night N=2651 15 * * * * * *
Day N=3982 16
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the network of measuring stations and in the landscape
itself. The large broad valleys (5001000 m wide) in
Gteborg make it possible to perform measurements
on similar altitudes even further inland and the measur-
ing network includes stations at different altitudes in
both inland and coastal positions (Figure 1). However,
for further work a principal component analysis (PCA)
would rule out any possibilities of correlation between
the chosen independent variables.
7.2. Air temperature variations between land
use/land cover categories.
It is a well-known fact that clear and calm weather
favours large temperature differences between areas
with different land uses. Both observations and the sta-
tistical analysis conrmed this, but, more interestingly,
the results showed that this was true also for cloudy
conditions (68 octas) for both day and night. These
results are especially interesting for planning consider-
ations as cloudy and windy weather is a common
weather type in Sweden (Table 2; see also Postgrd
2000). Large air temperature differences during cloudy
weather have been observed and reported also by
Laughlin (1982), Thornes (1989) and Bogren et al.
(2000).
Schudo et al. (1997) reports that the effect of land use
on temperature in Hokkaido, Japan, is greater during
winter than in summer. By contrast, studies in Phoenix,
Arizona, show large temperature variations between
different surface coverings during summer (Brazel &
Johnson 1980, Martin et al. 2000) as well as autumn and
spring (Selover 2000). Despite indications of a stronger
relationship for winter data the inuence of season
could not be statistically conrmed in the present
analysis. However, signicant differences in tempera-
ture between land use/land cover categories were found
for both daytime and night-time data. Brazel &
Johnson (1980) also report daytime uctuations in tem-
perature between different land use but could not show
any statistical signicance for their data.
For practical application it is important to remember
that the analysis of variance test only gives information
about the statistical signicance of the differences and
not the actual differences. For example, measurements
show large temperature differences between different
land use/land cover categories during clear and calm
conditions (Table 1) but none of these differences is
statistically signicant according to the analysis of vari-
ance test (Table 8). This discrepancy can be explained
by the fact that clear and calm weather occurs at a low
frequency daytime 3%, night-time 12% (Table 2)
and that the range within this weather group is large
(e.g. for wind, completely calm to 3.3 m s
1
). Cloudy
and windy situations, on the other hand, are much
more frequent (daytime 49% and night-time 35%) and
the analysis showed that temperatures were statistically
different for several of the land use/land cover cate-
gories during these weather conditions. Both the aver-
age and extreme condition might be important in prac-
tical applications, and in order to be able to judge
whether differences are signicant in any sense it is
important to base the analysis on a combination of sta-
tistics and actual temperature observations.
7.3. Land use/land cover information
The basic requirements for a land use/land cover data-
base that is to be used for urban climate purposes is (i)
a suitable resolution of the categories and (ii) up-to-
date information. Previous studies show that available
databases often lack these two requirements. Existing
land use classes usually need to be aggregated into
coarser categories and the decision as to which classes
to choose is difcult and the aggregation may induce
several errors (Shudo et al. 1997, Burian & Brown
2002). Another problem is that available databases are
not always updated, such as the widely used American
USGS database that is based on satellite data from the
1970s (Brown et al. 2000). The results presented in this
paper showed that the Master Plan could be used as a
land use/land cover database for an analysis of spatial
urban air temperature patterns. The advantages of the
Master Plan are that the limited number of categories is
well dened and that the planning authorities continu-
ously update the database. The site description analysis
showed that a minor regrouping of the original Master
Plan land use classes was necessary. The Master Plan
primarily shows function, and the surface characteris-
tics, important for temperature patterns, were found to
be similar for several categories. The regrouping, based
on a thorough examination of the characteristics at each
station, resulted in the creation of two new categories:
15 (other built-up) and 16 (green). The site description
analysis and statistical analysis of temperature differ-
ences performed on the ve new land use/land cover
categories showed that category 16 was uniform while
category 15 still showed variations of both surface
characteristics and temperature pattern after the
regrouping. This scatter is considered to be a result of
the wide range of different land uses that is included in
category 15 in Table 3. Figure 4 shows the area per-
centage of Master Plan land use classes in category 15.
The class Industries makes up more than 50% of this
category, followed by Recreation (25%). However,
both these classes and the other three land use classes
(Figure 4) are characterised by a large variation of sur-
face cover ranging from open asphalt surfaces with
lower building complexes to densely green areas or
high-rise buildings (Table 3 and Figure 2d, 2e).
Category 15 was basically created as a consequence of
the rst variance analysis, which showed few statisti-
cally signicant temperature differences between the
different land use classes. However, only ve stations
represent this category and, as it makes up 11% of the
Air temperature variations and urban land use
147
total Master Plan area, an increased number of temper-
ature stations within this category would probably result
in a different division of the original land use classes. The
results thus show the difculties of classifying different
homogeneous land use/land cover categories but also the
possibilities of successful aggregation.
8. Conclusion
This study has shown that land use and surface cover
have an important inuence on the spatial air tempera-
ture variation within an urban district during both day
and night and in all weather situations. Results showed
that the air temperature deviation was statistically dif-
ferent for all land use/land cover categories during
cloudy conditions. As observations showed tempera-
ture ranges of up to 6.8 C (Table 1) during cloudy con-
ditions and as this weather type is most common with
a frequency of 59% and 50% during day and night
respectively (Table 2), these results are of interest for
urban planning. A future aim is to apply these results in
urban planning through a combination of statistics and
the GIS model (Svensson et al. 2002). The site descrip-
tion analysis conrms that the Gteborg urban district
has a classical European land use/land cover division
characterised by an open and green structure. The
results based on the ve land use/land cover categories
urban dense, multi-family, single houses, other-built
up and green can thus be easily compared and trans-
ferred to other North European cities through the site
description methodology presented.
Acknowledgements
This study received nancial support from the Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency and the Swedish
Society for Anthropology and Geography. The authors
are grateful to Professor Sven Lindqvist and Associate
Professor Bjrn Holmer for valuable comments on the
manuscript and statistics. The Comprehensive Plan-
ning Department in the Municipality of Gteborg
made the Master Plan available for this study and Mrs
Agnetha Malm drew one of the maps. Colleagues and
family are also acknowledged for hosting Tiny-logger
equipment.
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