## 3 Results and Discussions
### Comparison of LST Drivers at City and Intra-LCZ Scales
These were attributed to localized features with high heat absorption capacity, such as dry and impervious surfaces, which elevated surface temperatures in areas of occurrence. Very low LSTs mainly coincided with LCZG, LCZ5, and LCZ6 locations, where either density of urban fabrics was low, or vegetation fraction was high, or surface water content was high. There was a general southwest to northeast decrease in LST, which was a response to the decrease in the density of buildings in that direction. There was evidence of notably high temperature areas with similar temperature ranges to LCZ2 and LCZ3, mainly in the low plants LCZ. The study was conducted during the hot season, when vegetation in some areas is dry and semi-bare to bare low plants areas, hence the elevated temperatures. The LCZ mapping scheme used in this study produced a static map which did not adapt to seasonal changes in vegetation characteristics, which affect land surface and air temperature variations. As such, during the same hot season, variations in vegetation characteristics (greenness, abundance, and health) vary within the city. For example, in built-up LCZs occupied by medium and high income strata, as well as in well maintained greenspaces such as urban parks and sporting fields, the quality of the vegetation may differ from that in natural areas. LCZ 2 was the warmest, followed by LCZ3 and LCZ7, while, of the built-up LCZs, LCZ5 and LCZ6 were the coolest. LCZA and LCZ6 were the coolest of all categories in the city. LCZD was even warmer than the built-up LCZ5, LCZ6, and LCZ7. LCZ2, LCZD, and LCZG were the most variable, as indicated by their long tails, while, generally, there were some overlaps. Previous studies have also identified LCZ2 (compact midrise) as the warmest due to the high density of buildings and high sky view factor, even when compared to compact highrise areas [28; 82]. The high LST in some LCZD areas was because some of the areas had dry grass and were semi-barren to barren. In such areas, the cooling effect of vegetation was eliminated due to the seasonality of vegetation. This finding is consistent with [PERSON] et al. [31], who also determined that the importance of factors to LST variations changed with seasons, such as in Beirut city in Lebanon. The cooling effect of vegetation was evident in the built-up LCZ5, LCZ6, and LCZ7, where buildings were widely spaced and separated by healthy and well-maintained vegetation. This was in agreement with [PERSON] et al. [23], who noted that LCZs with high vegetation density had low LSTs. The presence of vegetation in LCZ5 and LCZ6 compensates for warming due to large buildings and impervious surfaces in these areas [31]. Similar to [PERSON] et al. (2021) [18], in Sofia, Bulgaria, LCZG (Water) was the coolest, while built-up categories were warmest. The wide variations in LST in LCZG (water) could indicate spatial variations in water quality, as well as the mixed pixel effect on LST, given the small area covered by the LCZ in the city. At a 100 m resolution of Landsat 8's thermal data, it was possible for an LST pixel in water areas to include other LCZs and widen the variations. Although LCZG has key heat mitigation values, the limited area for such a category reduces its contribution towards the cooling of the city. LCZ2 was the warmest, but its contribution to the net heating of the city was low due to the small proportion of the city it occupies. Similarly, in Sophia, Bulgaria, LCZ9 had the highest temperature, but its contribution to the city's temperature was limited by the insignificant area it occupied [18]. The largest contributors to the heat load of the city were LCZ3 and LCZ7 with CI determination values, while LCZ7 is cooler than LCZ3, but has a larger CI due to the large proportion of the city it occupies compared to that occupied by LCZ3. The strength and direction of correlations of LST with Aspect, Elevation, MNDWI, NDBaI, NDBI, NDVI, and UI varied between LCZs. This indicated that each LCZ was affected by the same factors in its own unique ways.