A systematic review of urban heat island and heat waves research (1991–2022)
Open accessAbstract
Urban Heat Island (UHI) and Heat Waves (HWs) are very important research topics as they have a strong impact on society and their synergies are not enough understood. Urbanisation and global warming are dynamic processes that amplify the UHI intensity and the HWs, as well as their synergies. In this context, it is not a surprise to see that the number of publications tackling the linkages between UHI and HWs has constantly increased in the last decades. The development of new instruments and technologies allowed for consistent improvements in the temporal and spatial resolution of the data that boosted both the monitoring and analysis of the UHI-HW. The use of satellite remote sensing was very limited at the beginning of the analysed period and has become common practice in the last decade. Last, but not least, the interdisciplinary approaches, including physical, social, and economic aspects are more frequent and support the integrated development of the urban areas. Such changes are captured in this review including more than 400 titles, covering the period 1991–2022, aiming to foster further research on emergent climate change risks at urban scales and contextualise the future urban planning. This review provides a comprehensive, accessible and structured overview of the UHI-HW topic as a support for a better understanding of the gaps to be addressed by future research.
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Heat-related mortality is strongly associated with extreme hot periods, especially in cities, where the urban environment can further increase thermal stress.
“Recent studies have revealed that heat-related mortality is strongly associated with extreme hot periods, especially in cities, where the urban environment can further increase thermal stress [1-3].”
From GPU-Accelerated Deep Learning for Heatwave Prediction and Urban Heat Risk Assessment (2026) · cites this paper as [1]
Cites
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The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
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Impacts of heat waves and corresponding measures: a review
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GPU-Accelerated Deep Learning for Heatwave Prediction and Urban Heat Risk Assessment
Alihodžić, A. (2026) · arXiv · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2605.16435
“Recent studies have revealed that heat-related mortality is strongly associated with extreme hot periods, especially in cities, where the urban environment can further increase thermal stress [1–3].”
- Authors
- Cheval, S., Amihăesei, V.-A., Chitu, Z., Dumitrescu, A., Falcescu, V., Irașoc, A., Micu, D. M., Mihulet, E., Ontel, I., Paraschiv, M.-G., & Tudose, N. C.
- Affiliations
- Babeș-Bolyai University (RO)
- Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (RO)
- Administraţia Naţională de Meteorologie (RO)
- University of Bucharest (RO)
- National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry "Marin Drăcea" (RO)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Climate Risk Management
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2024
- Volume
- 44
- Pages
- 100603
- ISSN
- 2212-0963 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4392852925
- Cited by
- 156
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 76 · 2025: 67 · 2024: 13
- FWCI
- 4.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Climate Risk Management (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education Research Development and Innovation
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Urban Heat Island Mitigation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Climate Change and Health Impacts
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Keywords
- urban heat island, heat waves, urbanization, global warming, satellite remote sensing, urban planning, research gaps
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