Urban Heat and Freshness Island Maps for Quebec 2013-2014

Government and Municipalities of Québec provides 2013-2014 mapping of temperature differences, urban heat/freshness island classification, and heat island intensity index for Quebec. The temperature difference map covers the Quebec ecumene at a 15-meter spatial resolution, while classification covers 14,072 km2 of urban centers with at least 1,000 inhabitants.

Use Cases

• Train a model to predict temperature differences using Landsat-8 satellite data and geospatial variables like hydrography and topography.
• Analyze the distribution of Urban Heat Islands and Urban Fresh Islands across the 9 classification levels for each population center.
• Calculate the Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity Index (SUHII) for each dissemination island using weighted averages from temperature difference classes.
• Compare relative temperature difference data across regions to interpret heat island identification, accounting for variations between North and South Quebec.

Strengths

• Covers 14,072 km2 of major urban centers across Quebec.
• Temperature difference mapping provided at a 15-meter spatial resolution.
• Classification uses 9 distinct levels for urban heat and freshness islands.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, representing conditions from 2013-2014.
• Interpretation requires cross-referencing relative temperature difference data, as classification intervals vary by region.
• Sample data and specific row/column counts are unavailable for direct analysis.

Provenance

Source

Government and Municipalities of Québec

Collection Method

Produced with a predictive machine learning model built on Landsat-8 satellite data from USGS and other geospatial variables.

Time Range

2013-2014

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 25, but underlying data is from 2013-2014.

Geography

Quebec ecumene and 2021 census population centers with at least 1,000 inhabitants.