Evaluating the potential amplification and attenuation effects of land use on heatwaves in urban, suburban, and rural areas of Bangkok, Thailand | |
| Author | Alam, Mehmood |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.RS-25-04 |
| Subject(s) | Heat waves (Meteorology)--Bangkok--Thailand Land use--Bangkok--Thailand Remote sensing |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Heatwaves have become more frequent, prolonged, and intense due to ongoing climate change, posing threats to human health, agriculture, ecosystems, and infrastructure. These extreme events must be understood in terms of their patterns and behavior across both spatial and temporal scales for effective monitoring and risk mitigation. This study examined heatwave characteristics in central Thailand using long-term ground-based meteorological data and satellite-derived land surface temperature. Five key indices were calculated annually, including heatwave number, frequency, duration, magnitude, and amplitude, from both weather station air temperature data and satellite land surface temperature observations. The results show that the region has experienced more heatwave events in recent decades, particularly after 2010. An increasing trend was observed in occurrence-based indices during both day and night, and in intensity indices, with the HWA index showing an upward trend across most stations during nighttime. LST data successfully captured widespread heatwave events in the region, including those in 2005, 2016, 2019, and 2020. Comparisons between LST and ground station data demonstrated strong correlations, particularly in rural areas during the daytime (r = 0.87) and in urban areas at nighttime (r = 0.81). LST captured temperature based indices well, with a daytime mean MBE of +4.7°C and a nighttime mean MBE of -0.6°C. Land cover analysis shows that urban zones consistently experienced higher heatwave intensity compared to rural areas, with the urban-rural mean HWA difference most notable at nighttime (+1.96°C). These findings confirm the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves in the region and support the integration of satellite LST data for continuous spatial monitoring of heatwaves, especially in areas with limited ground-based data. |
| Year | 2025 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology |
| Department | Department of Information and Communications Technologies (DICT) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (RS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Virdis, Salvatore G. P. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Roy, Joyashree;Mozumder, Chitrini;Santoso, Djoen San |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | His Majesty the King's Scholarships (Thailand) |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2025 |