Nighttime artificial light intensity in local climate zones: A comparative study for global cities

Cities, vol. 170, pp. 106722

Abstract

Recent studies have proved various impacts of urban light pollution, from public health, shifted vegetated phase of trees, socio-economic consequences, to the energy budget. However, a detailed structure of urban forms and functions was not incorporated into the analysis yet. Using the concept of local climate zones LCZs) in this study, we assess the nighttime lights (NTL) of 32 urban agglomerations between the years 2012 and 2023, remotely accessed by the VIIRS instrument. We found significant statistical differences between the individual LCZs as well as various trends in the analyzed metropolitan areas. LCZ 1, typically representing densely built-up areas with skyscrapers, had the highest mean NTL of all classes. It was followed by LCZ 10 (heavy industry), LCZ 4 (openly arranged buildings tens of stories tall), and LCZ 3 (tightly packed buildings several stories tall). Lower values were identified in LCZ 9, a sparse arrangement of buildings. Significant temporal and regional trends in the NTL of built types of LCZs were detected, showing that changes in NTL cannot be explained simply by population growth. Marked differences in the contribution of individual LCZs to the overall NTL of the cities could provide a tool to focus on hot-spot areas in light pollution mitigation policies.

Authors 6

1. Jan Geletič corresponding

   Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Computer Science

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Complex Systems, Institute of Computer Science of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Pod Vodárenskou věží 271/2, Praha 8, 182 00, Czech Republic

2. Eduardo Leite Krüger

   Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná

   Affiliation as printed

   Departamento de Construção Civil, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR/Campus Curitiba - Sede Ecoville, Rua Deputado Heitor Alencar Furtado, 4900, 81280-340, Curitiba, Brazil

3. Matthias Demuzere
   Affiliation as printed

   B-Kode VOF, Ghent, Belgium

4. Michael Leuchner Aachen Physical Geography and Climatology Institute of Geography

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Physical Geography and Climatology, Institute of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, 52062, Aachen, Germany

5. Martin Jurek

   Palacký University Olomouc

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic

6. Michal Lehnert

   Palacký University Olomouc

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic