Assessing the impact of land cover changes on land surface temperature and the relation to urban heat island in Makassar City, South Sulawesi

Abstract

Makassar City, the capital of South Sulawesi Province, is the largest metropolitan city in the eastern part of Indonesia, with a population development rate of 1.19% in 2019. An increase in population impacts city development and results in land use and land cover changes. Changes in land use and land cover pattern bring impact to Land Surface Temperature (LST). This study examines land cover’s influence on land surface temperature in Makassar City using multi-temporal satellite data. Land cover and LST data were extracted using Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 over the period of 1999, 2009, and 2019. The result shows that the highest increase in land cover changed was a built-up area of 13.1%, and vegetation decreased by 8.6%. The change in average LST value in the last 20 years was 0.39°C with the highest LST distribution areas was in 30-32°C and 32-34°C classes. The result of LST analysis in 2019 shows that the Urban Heat Island phenomenon has occurred in Makassar in the downtown area and several areas with the densely built-up area. With an overview of the UHI phenomenon in Makassar, the government is expected to raise public awareness of this phenomenon so that preventive actions can be taken, so the effects of UHI do not spread more widely.