International journal of biometeorology, Volume 70, Issue 1, 3 1 2026, Pages 8 Quantifying associations between local climate zones on land surface temperature: new insights from coastal areas of Italy. Isinkaralar O, Isinkaralar K, Yilmaz D, Yeboah E, Sarfo I, Öztürk S
Coastal regions across Europe face rising sea levels and climate change-related extreme weather conditions such as more frequent and intense heat waves, floods, droughts, and storms. As climate change and rapid urbanization continue to pose significant challenges to the resilience of cities, knowledge from LCZ studies has the potential to generate targeted adaptation strategies that address the unique thermal performance characteristics of different urban areas. A range of physical characteristics, such as the density and type of buildings, the presence of vegetation and the amount of impervious surface, defines local climatic zones. The study focuses on the change in LCZ classification (1 to 10 and A to G) between 2003 and 2023 and its relationship with LST. The most pronounced increase occurred in LCZ3 (compact low-rise), with an expansion of 139 km², equivalent to more than a tenfold (1158%) rise from its 2003 extent. It was found that areas classified as LCZD (low plants) in 2003 were transformed into LCZ9 (sparsely built areas) in 2023. The transformation of vegetated areas into urban areas in the study area demonstrates the striking impact of urbanization over the last 20 years.
