Assessment of surface urban heat island intensity and its causes in the city of Baghdad

Recently, the differences in land surface temperature (LST) between urban and rural areas became more evident causing the formation of Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI). The research aims to investigate the current intensity of Baghdad SUHI and determines its growing state over time. It also aims to identify the causes of this phenomenon. To find out Baghdad SUHI, the maps of LST and land use classes were assessed. This assessment was conducted by using remote sensing techniques which include the processing of Landsat 8 images in GIS ArcMap. The satellite image was acquired in July 2018. LST map was obtained by processing thermal band 10, while the land use map was identified by using the maximum likelihood classification of optical bands 1-7 of the satellite image. The results show that the maximum LST difference between Baghdad soil and built-up areas and Baghdad vegetated and water areas was about 17C°. Compared with the results of previous studies, it was found that Baghdad SUHI had significantly increased over time. The research also identified SUHI causes which include the gradual loss of vegetated and water areas, the low albedo materials, the modern grid pattern and the increase of anthropogenic heat release.