## 4 Conclusions  
In this study, multi-temporal remote sensing data during 1987-2016 at intervals of about 10 years were used to monitor the LULC change and UHI variation. A transfer matrix method was carried out to simulate the mutual transformation between different LULC types, as well as different NLST classes over space and time. Then, the spatiotemporal correlation and dynamic response between the UHI effect and LULC change were visualized. It provided detailed information to further understand how LULC change influenced the UHI effect over space and time, based on class-to-class transfer analysis rather than change statistics in the categorized area.  
The spatial distributions of NLST levels were detected to strongly correspond with LULC types in all study years. They showed that 85.8-99.2% of high temperature (level V) and 50.8-96.3% of sub-high temperature (level IV) were concentrated in construction land, especially in urban industrial areas and along the main roads in the city core. Construction land was covered by the highest average NLST values, followed by farmland, greening land and water bodies. With the lowest average NLST values, water bodies presented an obvious \"cool island\" effect.  
The most notable changes were the rapid increase in construction land, as well as the continuous shrinkage of farmland and water bodies. The inward transfer of construction land was mainly from farmland and water bodies, with the transferred area of 218.3 km\({}^{2}\) (69.2%) and 78.9 km\({}^{2}\) (25.0%). To some extent, the rapid urban expansion was at the expense of farmland and water bodies. As a direct response to LULC change, the area of lower temperatures (levels I and II) decreased by 27.9%, a total area loss of 62.5 km\({}^{2}\) from 1987 to 2016, while higher temperatures (levels IV and V) increased from 223.1 km\({}^{2}\) in 1987 to 280.7 km\({}^{2}\) in 2016, an increase of 58.2 km\({}^{2}\).  
Generally, the land transitions from farmland and water bodies to construction land were responsible for the majority of thermal deterioration. Specifically, the transition of farmland to construction land contributed most to thermal deterioration in the original medium temperature area (level III). The transition of water bodies to construction land was the main driving force in rapidly upgrading NLST level I (low temperature). With the natural resources such as farmland and water bodies increasingly replaced by construction land, the thermal environment was significantly deteriorated. Consequently, more and more people were involved in warmer temperatures and suffered from heatstroke. Nevertheless, the expansion of construction land is irreversible due to the drastic population growth and strong development demand. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize land use structure by building ventilation corridors and protecting large-scale water bodies, so as to fight against the thermal deterioration caused by urbanization.  
Conceptualization, Q.X.; methodology, Q.X. and Q.S.; software, Q.S. and Z.O.; data analysis, Q.S. and Z.O.; writing--review and editing, Q.X. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China (2019 CFB538) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41401186).  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.