The effects of coastal development on the urban heat island in the mangrove ecosystem along the Jazan coast, KSA

Abstract

Mangroves are an essential habitat and breeding site for various aquatic organisms and considered as a barrier against tidal, wave, and storm that cause coastal erosion. Infrastructure development has recently disrupted the mangrove vegetation along the Jazan coast, resulting in gradual vegetation loss and a destructive impact on the environment. Land surface temperature (LST) is increasing regularly and the dramatic increase in LST leads to climate change, which produces a more extended and serious urban heat island (UHI) effect. Using the urban thermal field variance index, the UHI effect was described (UTFVI). Analyses of Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are effective methods for identifying change of built-up and vegetation respectively. The results show that mangrove ecosystem of Jazan coastal region gradually declined due to expansion of built-up areas leading to rise in land surface temperature over time. The NDBI has a high impact on the LST; a coefficient of connections is recorded as 0.56. The development of built-up areas over the years studied is considered to be primarily responsible for the UTFVI values. Results showed that the higher UTFVI were primarily observed in populated areas, whilst vegetated land was the hotspot for lower UTFVI. The UHI effect is especially important in areas defined as higher hot spots. The risk of UHI has been increased from 22.7%, 24.18% and 34.06% in 2014, 2018 and 2022 respectively. This study will assist coastal planners in comprehending assessing the gravity of local situation and creating will adopt proper mitigation measures to restore vegetation to counter rise in land surface temperature.