Urban Climate Analysis with Remote Sensing and Climate Observations: A Case of Morogoro Municipality in Tanzania
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Date
2017-06-15
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Abstract
Rapid urbanization is threatening sustainable development of urban areas in
Tanzania. Among the risks of rapid urbanization are Urban Heat Island
(UHI) effect and climate change. While this has been noted, it is not known to
what extent these risks are being realized in fast growing urban areas like
Morogoro and other areas of similar geographic and climatic conditions.
Therefore a study was conducted to assess the influence of urbanization on
UHI and climate in Morogoro Municipality using remote sensing and climate
data. Landsat imageries acquired in 1990, 2000 and 2015 were used to assess
the change of impervious surface for the year 1990 to 2015 using a Classification
and Regression Tree (CART). Radiant surface temperature and normalized
difference vegetation index (NDVI) were derived from thermal band and
reflectance bands respectively. Mann-Kendall test was used to analyze climate
data for trends. Results revealed an increase of impervious surface (built up
areas) from 9 km2 in 1990 to 48 km2 in 2000 and 82 km2 in 2015; which is associated
with UHI. UHI was not apparent in 1990, but was apparent in 2000
and 2015 with the temperature rise of 1.08˚C and 1.22˚C respectively. A linear
relationship between radiant surface temperature (TB) and percent Impervious
Surface (ISA); and between TB and NDVI it revealed that NDVI is better
indicator of variations in TB dynamics than percent ISA. Mann-Kendall test
indicated a significant increasing trend in mean annual maximum temperature.
The results imply that increasing ISA coupled with vegetation degradation
has contributed to temperature rise and change. Consequently, Morogoro
Municipality residents are likely to suffer heat stress due to rapid urbanization.
It is recommended that education on the use of reflective surfaces should
be given to the residents; and an effective master plan that protects vegetation
should be in place.
Description
Advances in Remote Sensing, 2917; 6: 120-131
Keywords
Radiant Temperature, Impervious Surfaces, Urban Heat Island, Random Forest Algorithm, Mann-Kendall Test
Citation
Ernest, S., Nduganda, A.R. and Kashaigili, J.J. (2017) Urban Climate Analysis with Remote Sensing and Climate Observations: A Case of Morogoro Municipality in Tanzania. Advances in Remote Sensing, 6, 120-131. https://doi.org/10.4236/ars.2017.62009