Modelling of land surface temperature changes as determinant of urban heat island and risk of heat-related conditions in the Wassa West Mining Area of Ghana

In recent times, land surface temperature and its associated effect urban heat island (UHI) has attracted massive research and public attention due to their effects on the environment, climate and public health. Specifically, UHI adversely affects the quality of life of city dwellers in the form of thermal discomfort, resulting in a rise in energy consumption to mitigate the effects of the increase in surface temperature. Therefore, studying the presence, extent, spatial distribution and changes in surface temperature is essential as it could generate meaningful and useful information for sustainable urban planning. This research used four multi-temporal Landsat images covering three decades to examine surface temperature changes and urban heat islands in the Wassa West areas of south-western Ghana. The research was implemented through the application of several mathematical models, remote sensing and GIS techniques to determine land surface temperature variations over the study period. The results of the study showed a consistent rise in surface temperature over the 30-year period. For instance, in 1990, the minimum and maximum surface temperatures were 14.96 °C and 27.17 °C, respectively. In 2020, the minimum and maximum temperatures had increase to 24.22 °C and 31.23 °C, respectively. A consistent decline in the vegetation of the study was equally observed over the period, and this was attributed to the increase in urban settlements and large-scale mining activities in the study area. The results further indicated that low surface temperatures were observed in rural areas with high vegetation, whereas high surface temperature values were consistently observed in areas with impervious surface covers such as mining and urban areas, suggesting the presence of the UHI phenomenon. The study identifies environmentally critical areas in the study areas warranting the urgent attention of society and specific measures that could contribute to reducing the fast increase in surface temperature and mitigate the risk of heat-related conditions has been discussed.