Study on Urban Heat Island Phenomenon in a Local Small City of Japan using Airborne Themal Image

A new method to make an air temperature map from surface temperature of greenery is presented. The relationship between the treetop´s surface temperature and the ambient air temperature was examined and the method to make an air temperature map was developed. The method was applied using airborne MSS data for a city situated in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Recently, the heat island phenomenon has been observed in small cities in Japan. However, compared to large cities, small cities generally have more green and open spaces that can mitigate the heat island phenomenon. In the present study, in order to mitigate the heat island phenomenon in the Tonami urbanized area, the state of the heat island of Tonami district was examined by the proposed method using remotely sensed data acquired at different times. The result indicated that the heat island phenomenon occurred even in a small city, and it was observed that the air warmed up in the central area was conveyed leeward by the wind.