When estimating surface urban heat island intensity (SUHI) of different cities on a regional scale using the urban-rural difference method, it is technically difficult to select the rural districts or reference areas that exhibit minimal impact by urbanization. In this study, we propose a method of estimating SUHI based on land topography, land use, vegetation coverage, and urban nighttime light index to define the rural districts. Then, a quantitative evaluation method can be established to determine heat island intensity based on SUHI and the urban heat island proportion index (UHPI). Using this method, the temporal and spatial variation of urban heat island for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration region was quantitatively evaluated based on long time series MODIS and NOAA satellite data. An impact assessment for socio-economic factors driving urban heat islands was also conducted, and some recommendations for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic unity development are proposed. The results show that the SUHI estimation method can effectively reflect annual, seasonal, and diurnal variations of heat island in urban agglomerations. The annual mean heat island area with SUHI greater than or equal to 3.0℃ from 2010-2014 was 1,926 km². It is highest on summer days at 7386 km² (5.8% of total urban group area). The four largest area cities are Beijing at 2351 km², Tianjin at 1883 km², Tangshan at 889 km², and Shijiazhang at 611 km², which represent megacities, extra-large cities, and resource-dependent cities contributing to most of the heat island areas. The mean SUHI and UHPI of all central urban areas are 3.0℃ and 0.61, respectively. Seventy-three percent of cities have heat island assessment levels that are more than relatively severe with SUHI greater than or equal to 3.0℃. This indicates that the phenomenon of heat islands in urban agglomeration is currently severe. During summer days in 1994, 2004, and 2014, the areas with SUHI greater than or equal to 5.0℃ were 190 km², 1975 km², and 4539 km²; the mean SUHI were 1.2℃, 2.6℃, and 3.2℃; and the UHPI were 0.29, 0.58, and 0.69. The heat island assessment levels were normal, relatively severe, and severe, respectively, which reflects the fact that the heat island effect for urban agglomerations has strengthened and expanded in the last 20 years. The annual growth rate of heat island areas is 2-86 km²/a, and the increasing areas of high-level heat islands in urban group regions occur mainly in megacity behemoths. The shortest distance between the Beijing heat island region and the Tianjin heat island region was reduced from 94 km in 1994 to 52 km in 2014. Thus, in future, the Beijing and Tianjin heat island regions will probably connect to form a new Beijing Tianjin heat island group, which may be an ecological disaster for urban agglomeration development. Therefore, an ecological green barrier between Beijing and Tianjin should be set up to halt the trend. Heat island area with SUHI greater than or equal to 3.0℃ for various cities correlate notably with the urban population, gross domestic product, and electricity consumption, and the R² are 0.9097, 0.912, and 0.9661, which indicates the important role of population control and energy consumption reduction in the development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic unit.