TY  - EJOU
AU  - Yusuf,  Ahmed 
AU  - Shafri, Helmi Zulhaidi Mohd 
AU  - Kafi, Kamil Muhammad 
AU  - Roslan, Siti Nur Aliaa 
AU  - Gambo, Jibrin 

TI  - Beyond Urban Heat Islands: Linking Land Surface Temperature to Urban Air Pollution through Geospatial and Correlation Analytics
T2  - Revue Internationale de Géomatique

PY  - 2026
VL  - 35
IS  - 1
SN  - 2116-7060

AB  - Urbanization alters land surface characteristics, intensifies urban heat, and degrades air quality, posing significant environmental and public health challenges. This study investigated the relationship between urban land surface temperature (LST) and air pollution in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria, using Earth observation data, geospatial techniques, and correlation analysis. Land use/land cover (LULC) analysis revealed that built-up areas account for 67.4% of the metropolitan area, contributing to elevated land surface temperatures, particularly within the densely urbanized local government areas of Kano Municipal, Gwale, Ungogo, Dala, and Fagge, as demonstrated by the LST and Urban Heat Island (UHI) analyses. To evaluate the relationship between urban heat and air quality, Pearson correlation analysis showed strong and statistically significant positive relationships between LST and particulate matter, with PM<sub>2.5</sub> (r = 0.74, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) and PM<sub>10</sub> (r = 0.61, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) exhibiting the strongest associations. In contrast, CO<sub>2</sub>, TVOC, and HCHO displayed weak and statistically non-significant relationships with LST. Air Quality Index (AQI) assessment further revealed that 53.6% of the metropolitan area experienced unhealthy air quality, with localized very unhealthy conditions concentrated around commercial cooking areas where biomass fuels are extensively used. These findings indicate that particulate pollution is closely associated with urban surface heating, whereas gaseous pollutants are comparatively less influenced by LST. Overall, the results demonstrate that rapid urbanization, increasing impervious surfaces, and anthropogenic emissions collectively contribute to elevated urban temperatures and deteriorating particulate air quality in Kano Metropolis. These findings provide valuable evidence to support sustainable urban planning through urban greening, the use of high-albedo materials, and cleaner cooking technologies to mitigate urban heat, improve air quality, and reduce public health risks in rapidly urbanizing cities.
KW  - Urban heat islands; air quality; remote sensing; Nigeria; public health; sustainable urban planning

DO  - 10.32604/rig.2026.084692