Land-Use/Land-Cover Changes and Their Impact on Surface Urban Heat Islands: Case Study of Kandy City, Sri Lanka

Between 1996 and 2017, Kandy City, Sri Lanka, experienced a dramatic expansion of impervious surfaces (IS), growing from 529 hectares to 5833 hectares—an annual increase of 11.1% to 12.2%. This rapid urbanization intensified the surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect, with persistent IS areas exhibiting significantly higher land-surface temperatures (LST) than newly added IS, averaging 1.43°C warmer due to their dense urban surroundings. The study, using Landsat data and geospatial techniques, revealed that while forest cover declined, strategic green landscape management could mitigate SUHI impacts. These findings underscore the critical role of LULC changes in shaping long-term urban heat dynamics.

Dissanayake, D., Morimoto, T., Ranagalage, M., & Murayama, Y. (2019). Land-Use/Land-Cover Changes and Their Impact on Surface Urban Heat Islands: Case Study of Kandy City, Sri Lanka. Climate, 7(8), 99. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli7080099