IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i18p13355-d1234107.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Detecting Land Surface Temperature Variations Using Earth Observation at the Holy Sites in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Author

Listed:
  • Ahmad Fallatah

    (Department of Geomatics, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
    The Center of Excellence in Smart Environment Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia)

  • Ayman Imam

    (Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 80200, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

During Hajj, Muslims throughout the globe assemble at the holy sites in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government aims to increase the number of pilgrims. To ensure the pilgrims’ safety from the impact of surface urban heat island (SUHI), a scientific approach using artificial intelligence and Earth observation (EO) is recommended for crowd management and human health. SUHI is usually measured using satellite LST data. UHIs impact the walkability of cities in hot climates. The development of digital technologies has provided researchers with a better understanding of crowd management modeling to control such a mass gathering, especially within the summer season and in drought regions. In this study, an approach was used to detect the UHI in holy sites and understand the factors causing them. To achieve this goal, EO data were used to calculate the LST using the Landsat 8 thermal band (TIRS) and calculating the surface emissivity and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Then, UHIs were identified by adding the mean of the LST to half of its standard deviation. Based on the results of this study, LST had a strong correlation with NDVI (negative) in Arafah. In addition, the strength of the correlation became much weaker within Mina and Muzdalifah. As for the correlation of LST and elevation, the strength appeared to be weak but negative in Arafah, but stronger in Muzdalifah and Mina. The results show that there is a certain correlation between LST, NDVI, and NDBI and elevation in the study area. Using Earth observation technologies can help in studying climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmad Fallatah & Ayman Imam, 2023. "Detecting Land Surface Temperature Variations Using Earth Observation at the Holy Sites in Makkah, Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-18, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:18:p:13355-:d:1234107
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13355/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/18/13355/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kyungil Lee & Yoonji Kim & Hyun Chan Sung & Jieun Ryu & Seong Woo Jeon, 2019. "Trend Analysis of Urban Heat Island Intensity According to Urban Area Change in Asian Mega Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Kim, Se Woong & Brown, Robert D., 2021. "Urban heat island (UHI) variations within a city boundary: A systematic literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    3. Awais Piracha & Muhammad Tariq Chaudhary, 2022. "Urban Air Pollution, Urban Heat Island and Human Health: A Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Pauline Schmidt & Bryce T. Lawrence, 2022. "Association between Land Surface Temperature and Green Volume in Bochum, Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Ze Liang & Yueyao Wang & Jiao Huang & Feili Wei & Shuyao Wu & Jiashu Shen & Fuyue Sun & Shuangcheng Li, 2020. "Seasonal and Diurnal Variations in the Relationships between Urban Form and the Urban Heat Island Effect," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-19, November.
    6. Xuchao Yang & Wenze Yue & Honghui Xu & Jingsheng Wu & Yue He, 2014. "Environmental Consequences of Rapid Urbanization in Zhejiang Province, East China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ante Seletković & Martina Kičić & Mario Ančić & Jelena Kolić & Renata Pernar, 2023. "The Urban Heat Island Analysis for the City of Zagreb in the Period 2013–2022 Utilizing Landsat 8 Satellite Imagery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-13, February.
    2. SangHyeok Lee & Donghyun Kim, 2022. "Multidisciplinary Understanding of the Urban Heating Problem and Mitigation: A Conceptual Framework for Urban Planning," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.
    3. Dadashpoor, Hashem & Sajadi, Afshin, 2024. "Principles of just urban land use planning," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    4. Luca Adami & Marco Schiavon, 2022. "A Quali-Quantitative Comparison between In Situ and Ex Situ Waste-to-Energy Processes in Terms of Local and Global Impacts," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-11, October.
    5. Igor Gallay & Branislav Olah & Veronika Murtinová & Zuzana Gallayová, 2023. "Quantification of the Cooling Effect and Cooling Distance of Urban Green Spaces Based on Their Vegetation Structure and Size as a Basis for Management Tools for Mitigating Urban Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-22, February.
    6. Shuyao Wu & Kai-Di Liu & Wentao Zhang & Yuehan Dou & Yuqing Chen & Delong Li, 2023. "To better understand realized ecosystem services: An integrated analysis framework of supply, demand, flow and use," Papers 2309.15574, arXiv.org.
    7. Kaimeng Li & Shuang Gao & Yuantao Liao & Ke Luo & Shaojian Wang, 2022. "The Impact of Development Zones on China’s Urbanization from the Perspectives of the Population, Land, and the Economy," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Jongyeon Lim & Ryozo Ooka, 2021. "A CFD-Based Optimization of Building Configuration for Urban Ventilation Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Andreas Braun & Gebhard Warth & Felix Bachofer & Michael Schultz & Volker Hochschild, 2023. "Mapping Urban Structure Types Based on Remote Sensing Data—A Universal and Adaptable Framework for Spatial Analyses of Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-41, October.
    10. Yan Liu & Zhijie Wang, 2023. "Research Progress and Hotspot Analysis of Urban Heat Island Effects Based on Cite Space Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, May.
    11. Sovan Sankalp & Sanat Nalini Sahoo, 2023. "Fuzzy AHP modelling of urbanization and environmental stress to rank selected Indian cities for liveability," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6727-6750, July.
    12. Paolo Semenzato & Lucia Bortolini, 2023. "Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Urban Green Spaces: Testing a Model in the City of Padova (Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-13, February.
    13. Nasim Eslamirad & Abel Sepúlveda & Francesco De Luca & Kimmo Sakari Lylykangas & Sadok Ben Yahia, 2023. "Outdoor Thermal Comfort Optimization in a Cold Climate to Mitigate the Level of Urban Heat Island in an Urban Area," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-28, June.
    14. Nawhath Thanvisitthpon, 2023. "Statistically Validated Urban Heat Island Risk Indicators for UHI Susceptibility Assessment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-21, January.
    15. André Alves & Filipe Marcelino & Eduardo Gomes & Jorge Rocha & Mário Caetano, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Land-Use Dynamics in Continental Portugal 1995–2018," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-29, November.
    16. Gallé, Johannes, 2023. "City Shape and Air Pollution," Ruhr Economic Papers 1012, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    17. Maksymilian Mądziel, 2023. "Vehicle Emission Models and Traffic Simulators: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-31, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:18:p:13355-:d:1234107. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.