Fig. 5: Seasonal hysteresis in thermal disparities.
a The correlation between the mean LST disparity (defined as difference between D-graded and low-income neighborhoods versus A-graded and high-income neighborhoods, i.e., ΔLSTHOLC,income = LSTD,Low −LSTA,High) and mean LST is shown. Each point represents a unique LST scene acquired by ECOSTRESS. The overlaid line indicates a positive correlation with an R2 of 0.83 and a slope of 0.16, which implies a nearly 1 °C rise in ΔLSTHOLC,income for every 6 °C rise in mean LST. b Same as a, except ECOSTRESS scenes are grouped by time of day (e.g., afternoon or past midnight) and season (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall), and the average for each group is plotted. Each point represents the mean ΔLSTHOLC,income for a given season and time-of-day group, with error bars showing standard deviation across scenes within that group. The seasonal trajectory is depicted using the arrows, highlighting the hysteresis for the afternoon (solid line) and nighttime (dashed line). Sample size (n = number of ECOSTRESS scenes) for each group are: Afternoon- Winter (n = 22), Spring (n = 26), Summer (n = 44), Fall (n = 33); Past Midnight- Winter (n = 18), Spring (n = 24), Summer (n = 21), Fall (n = 21).
