Remote Sensing Analysis of Urban Heat Island Mitigation by Green Infrastructure: A Case Study of Ho Chi Minh City

In the light of urbanization and climate change, urban heat island (UHI) had become challenge of tropical cities in the world. Due to impact of El Nino, the highest temperatures of the large cities of Vietnam like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi reached 40–45 ℃ degrees in March and April, 2016. UHI in these cities are causing heat waves with some of the highest recorded temperatures ever in the country, affecting public health. According to EPA, green infrastructure can help reduce UHI effects by shading building surfaces, deflecting radiation from the sun, and releasing moisture into the atmosphere. This study aimed to analyse how green infrastructure help Ho Chi Minh city mitigate with UHI by using remote sensing data from Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 satellites. Spatial statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient method are applied to find the relationship between the interleaving of green infrastructure and the increase level of land surface temperature. The analysis results show the effectiveness of green infrastructure in reducing the temperature and propose the reasonable distribution distance of green infrastructure, contributing to urban spatial planning of Ho Chi Minh City toward sustainability and better climate change adaptation in the future.