Ranagalage, Manjula; Ratnayake, Sujith S; Dissanayake, D M S L B; Kumar, Lalit; Wickremasinghe, Hasula; Vidanagama, Jagathdeva; Cho, Hanna; Udagedara, Susantha; Jha, Keshav Kumar; Simwanda, Matamyo; Phiri, Darius; Perera, E N C; Muthunayake, Priyantha

Author(s)

Ranagalage, Manjula

Ratnayake, Sujith S

Dissanayake, D M S L B

Kumar, Lalit

Wickremasinghe, Hasula

Vidanagama, Jagathdeva

Cho, Hanna

Udagedara, Susantha

Jha, Keshav Kumar

Simwanda, Matamyo

Phiri, Darius

Perera, E N C

Muthunayake, Priyantha

Publication Date

2020-07-21

Abstract

Changes in the urban landscape resulting from rapid urbanisation and climate change have the potential to increase land surface temperature (LST) and the incidence of the urban heat island (UHI). An increase in urban heat directly affects urban livelihoods and systems. This study investigated the spatiotemporal variation of the UHI in the Kurunegala urban area (KUA) of North-Western Province, Sri Lanka. The KUA is one of the most intensively developing economic and administrative capitals in Sri Lanka with an urban system that is facing climate vulnerabilities and challenges of extreme heat conditions. We examined the UHI formation for the period 1996–2019 and its impact on the urban-systems by exploring nature-based solutions (NBS). This study used annual median temperatures based on Landsat data from 1996 to 2019 using the Google Earth Engine (GEE). Various geospatial approaches, including spectral index-based land use/cover mapping (1996, 2009 and 2019), urban-rural gradient zones, UHI profile, statistics and grid-based analysis, were used to analyse the data. The results revealed that the mean LST increased by 5.5 °C between 1996 and 2019 mainly associated with the expansion pattern of impervious surfaces. The mean LST had a positive correlation with impervious surfaces and a negative correlation with the green spaces in all the three time-points. Impacts due to climate change, including positive temperature and negative rainfall anomalies, contributed to the increase in LST. The study recommends interactively applying NBS to addressing the UHI impacts with effective mitigation and adaptation measures for urban sustainability.

Citation

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 9(7), p. 1-21

ISSN

2220-9964

Link

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/29929

Publisher

MDPI AG

Rights

Attribution 4.0 International

Title

Spatiotemporal Variation of Urban Heat Islands for Implementing Nature-Based Solutions: A Case Study of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

Type of document

Journal Article

Entity Type

Publication

Author(s)	Ranagalage, Manjula Ratnayake, Sujith S Dissanayake, D M S L B Kumar, Lalit Wickremasinghe, Hasula Vidanagama, Jagathdeva Cho, Hanna Udagedara, Susantha Jha, Keshav Kumar Simwanda, Matamyo Phiri, Darius Perera, E N C Muthunayake, Priyantha
Publication Date	2020-07-21
Abstract	Changes in the urban landscape resulting from rapid urbanisation and climate change have the potential to increase land surface temperature (LST) and the incidence of the urban heat island (UHI). An increase in urban heat directly affects urban livelihoods and systems. This study investigated the spatiotemporal variation of the UHI in the Kurunegala urban area (KUA) of North-Western Province, Sri Lanka. The KUA is one of the most intensively developing economic and administrative capitals in Sri Lanka with an urban system that is facing climate vulnerabilities and challenges of extreme heat conditions. We examined the UHI formation for the period 1996–2019 and its impact on the urban-systems by exploring nature-based solutions (NBS). This study used annual median temperatures based on Landsat data from 1996 to 2019 using the Google Earth Engine (GEE). Various geospatial approaches, including spectral index-based land use/cover mapping (1996, 2009 and 2019), urban-rural gradient zones, UHI profile, statistics and grid-based analysis, were used to analyse the data. The results revealed that the mean LST increased by 5.5 °C between 1996 and 2019 mainly associated with the expansion pattern of impervious surfaces. The mean LST had a positive correlation with impervious surfaces and a negative correlation with the green spaces in all the three time-points. Impacts due to climate change, including positive temperature and negative rainfall anomalies, contributed to the increase in LST. The study recommends interactively applying NBS to addressing the UHI impacts with effective mitigation and adaptation measures for urban sustainability.
Citation	ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 9(7), p. 1-21
ISSN	2220-9964
Link	https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/29929
Publisher	MDPI AG
Rights	Attribution 4.0 International
Title	Spatiotemporal Variation of Urban Heat Islands for Implementing Nature-Based Solutions: A Case Study of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka
Type of document	Journal Article
Entity Type	Publication

Spatiotemporal Variation of Urban Heat Islands for Implementing Nature-Based Solutions: A Case Study of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

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