Urban Heat Island Change Analysis for Quebec 2013-2022

Pixel-level maps analyze the change in urban heat island intensity across Quebec's major urban centers between two periods: 2013-2014 and 2020-2022. The dataset includes two primary change metrics: the difference in temperature differences in °C and the percentage change in the Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity (SUHII) Index. It covers the 2016 census ecumene of Quebec (167,764 km²) and 2021 census population centers with at least 1,000 inhabitants.

Use Cases

• Analyze the map of Difference between temperature differences in °C to identify pixels where urban warming increased or decreased between the two periods.
• Use the map of Change in the SUHII Index (%) to assess the relative intensity shift of heat islands within census dissemination areas.
• Correlate changes in temperature difference values with urban development patterns in Quebec's population centers.
• Validate climate adaptation strategies by tracking SUHII index values around 100%, indicating areas of stable heat island intensity.

Strengths

• Provides comparative analysis across a 7-9 year time span (2013-2014 vs. 2020 2022).
• Covers a defined geographic area of 167,764 km² based on the 2016 census ecumene of Quebec.
• Includes two distinct methodological outputs: pixel-level temperature difference change and SUHII index percentage change.

Limitations

• SUHII index change values are influenced by differing class limits from the k-means algorithm between periods, complicating direct comparison.
• Spatial coverage is limited to urban centers with specific population and density thresholds, excluding rural areas.
• Sample data and structural details like row or column counts are unavailable for review.

Provenance

Source

Government and Municipalities of Québec

Collection Method

Analysis of change between two previously published heat/freshness island mappings, using pixel-level calculation and SUHII index methodology.

Time Range

2013-2014 compared to 2020-2022

Freshness

Last updated March 2026, though the underlying data periods end in 2022.

Geography

Quebec, Canada, focusing on major urban centers within the 2016 census ecumene and 2021 census population centers.