Analysis of Land Surface Temperature Variability Over the Industrial Zone During the Lockdown Period of Covid-19 Pandemics by Using Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS

Abstract

Rapid industrialization one of the concerns that lead to climate change in the current world. With the advancement of industrialization declining vegetation cover inversely proportional to the raise of built-up areas. Export processing zones (EPZ) are playing a vital part in the economy of any country and usually associate with some environmental issues. Due to COVID 19 pandemic, the Sri Lankan government declared a lockdown period from 20th March to 11th May 2020 and the EPZ zones have not functioned during that time. Therefore, the present study concentrates to examine the land surface temperature variation during the lockdown period and the normal working time in Seethawaka EPZ. The long-time record of remote sensing satellite images was beneficial in time series analysis. Consequently, the Landsat 8 satellite images were used for the research, and the processing was accomplished in the ArcMap 10.5 software environment by using the temperature extraction method defined by the NASA and United States Geological Survey. Rendering to the study that reveals there is considerable temperature variation during lockdown time and the normal working day. As an outcome of the study, its illustrations a decrease in the temperature during the non-working day than the normal working day. Further, it shows mean temperature increase concerning the NDVI ranges throughout the working day than the non-working day which indicates the effect to the air temperature upsurges due to the working condition. In conclusion, it highlights the requirement of careful environmental monitoring over the area for conservation and temperature control. Although that we might not proceed with development devoid of proper industrialization, it is vital to revenue necessary actions for the sustainability of these zones. Hence, continuous measuring of climatological parameters over these areas, making green walls in between buildings, using eco-friendly building materials were the possible actions that could take as solutions.