Temporal and spatial urban heat island in Damascus city

Abstract

Surface urban heat island (SUHI) phenomenon is caused by the increase in local atmospheric and surface temperatures in urban areas compared to the surrounding rural areas. This mainly results from the concentration of human activities and land uses such as dense transportation network, buildings. This study aims to analyze the spatial patterns of land surface temperature to quantify and understand the effects of SUHI over urban, sub-urban and rural area of Damascus. MODIS/Terra Temperature product (MYD11A2, 8 days, 1 km spatial resolution) used to study the UHI phenomenon for Damascus and surrounding areas. Therefore, a series of data were obtained on 2010 covering 8 days of months from winter and summer seasons at day and night time. The results showed that SUHI were typically presented in winter (day and night) and in summer (only night). However, it tended to be strongest during the night. This is mainly because of the buildings and commercial business establishments in Damascus are made of concrete, asphalt, and steel, which are excellent absorbers and conductors of thermal energy. Since these buildings produce higher radiate thermal heat at night time, higher temperatures were recorded.