Study of Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Land Cover for Urban Heat Island (UHI) Analysis in Dubai

Cities have been growing and evolving over time to meet the needs of space and fulfilment of function. The growth has been both in the horizontal and vertical direction with varied densities creating an effect of urban heat island. This has different factors being the cause for the temperature increase directly effecting the human comfort level in the outdoor spaces. The desert climate of Dubai being extremely hot from June to September, warm and dry from October to April adds to make the problems severe to have the spaces habitable during the peak summers. In addition, built structures in urban area with impervious surface area (ISA) is a major factor associated with UHI. The objective of this study was to evaluate the data of land cover and land surface temperature (LST) responsible for causing UHI effect. The study on the land surface temperature of Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), a fast growing and well-planned example of industrial city was carried out using the satellite data collected over the years of development to the seasons of the year. Mapping of these urban mass in correlation to open spaces based on the patterns of urban development and land surface temperature gave an understanding of the microclimate and its effect on the environment.