Geospatial analysis of temperature fluctuations due to the rapid physical development in the greater Hambantota project

Abstract

The Greater Hambantota project is a large development project in Sri Lanka. The major goal of this new super city plan is to make it the second-biggest regional and urban development centre or just to work as a deterrent to Colombo and, as a result, decentralize economic growth in Sri Lanka. The town's profitable location to be developed for a prosperous city centred on the port of Hambantota is vital for international interconnections due to its efficiency and the benefit of the 25-kilometre quick journey between the harbour and Mattala Airport. Those development plans were implemented within a short time and it causes changes mainly through reductions of green areas, an increase of manmade features like buildings, and even changing the land use in some areas. Such factors affect temperature fluctuations. Through this research, a study is conducted on the temperature variation due to the rapid development of the Greater Hambantota project. Remote sensing (RS) technology integrated with the Geographic Information System (GIS) system was used to conduct this study (Yue et al., 2013).