An investigation into heat storage by adopting local climate zones and nocturnal-diurnal urban heat island differences in the Tokyo Prefecture

• Urban heat island diurnal-nocturnal difference adopted as relative heat storage indicator. • Seasonal local climate zone (LCZ) and relative heat storage correlation is analyzed. • Relative height slope data is combined with LCZs for heat storage analysis. • Higher-rise LCZs are suggested to have larger relative heat storage effects than lower-rise. • Compact LCZs are suggested to have larger relative heat storage effects than open. This study aims to identify urban forms that are prone to heat storage in the Tokyo Prefecture in Japan. First, local climate zones (LCZ) were identified with 100 m pixel resolution using Landsat 8 data. LCZs include urban forms that are predominantly defined by building compactness and height. The spatial distribution of urban heat island intensity was obtained using LCZs and MODIS 100 m resolution land surface temperatures from 2013 to 2021. The difference between diurnal and nocturnal heat island intensity (∆UHI) was evaluated as an indicator of the relative heat storage effect between the LCZs. Lower ∆UHIs suggest increased relative heat-storage capacities. Seasonal average ∆UHIs for compact and super high-rise, high-rise, mid-rise, and low-rise LCZs were 3.1 °C, 4.1 °C, 5.8 °C, and 8.3 °C, respectively. Additionally, ∆UHIs for open and super high-rise, high-rise, and mid-rise LCZs were 5.8 °C, 6.4 °C, and 7.8 °C, respectively. Slope data also validated the LCZ height. LCZ and slope analyzes found lower ∆UHI magnitudes in all LCZs with high-rise buildings. Also, compact LCZs had lower ∆UHI magnitudes than open LCZs at corresponding heights. Therefore, higher-rise and compact LCZs are suggested to have larger relative heat storage effects than lower-rise and open LCZs.