Abstract
Mountainous regions are more sensitive to climatic condition changes and are susceptible to recent increases in temperature. Due to urbanization and land use/land cover (LULC) issues, Cameron Highlands has been impacted by rising land surface temperature (LST) variation. Thus, this study was carried out to explore the impact of the LULC change on LST in the Cameron Highlands from 2009 to 2019 using remote sensing images acquired from Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI/TIRS), and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 11A Thermal sensors. A split-window algorithm was applied to Landsat 8 images (2013–2019) to derive the LST. Air temperature data of the study area were also obtained to cross-validate data sources. Based on the validation results, the accuracy of LULC and LST outputs were more than 94.6% and 80.0%, respectively. The results show that the current trend of urban growth continues at a rate of 0.16% per year, and the area experienced an LST increase of 2 °C between 2009 and 2019. This study is crucial for land planners and environmentalists to understand the impacts of LULC change on LST and to propose appropriate policy measures to control development in Cameron Highlands.
Highlights
Little is known about deforestation and land cover dynamics and their effects on land surface temperature (LST), in highland areas
This study explores the land use/land cover (LULC) and LST for the years 2009 and 2019 based on Landsat and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data
Results obtained from this study show that the total urban area increased by almost 1.70% since 2009, and farmland and agriculture plots registered a significant 7.71% increase
Summary
Little is known about deforestation and land cover dynamics and their effects on land surface temperature (LST), in highland areas. Cameron Highlands is situated in Malaysia at an elevation between 300 and 1800 m. The temperature has steadily increased since the mid-1970s [1]. Recent deforestation has possibly contributed to the warming and increased LST. Previous studies using satellite observations indicate that tropical deforestation results in warmer and drier conditions at the local scale. LST is related to the surface energy balance and the integrated thermal conditions of the atmosphere within the planetary boundary layer [2]. The rise in LST could be a direct result of deforestation due to the expansion of urban zones and the overall global surface temperature rise caused by the reduction of the ozone layer
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