Application of Luojia 1-01 Nighttime Images for Detecting the Light Changes for the 2019 Spring Festival in Western Cities, China

This study analyzed changes in nighttime light during the 2019 Spring Festival using Luojia 1-01 nighttime images in six western cities of China (Chengdu, Panzhihua, Kunming, Yuxi, Lhasa, and Jinchang). First, the radiance of the nighttime images was calculated. Second, the light area (LA) and average light intensity (ALI) were estimated for both Spring Festival and non-festival dates. Third, the differences in LA and ALI between the Spring Festival and non-festival were analyzed for all six cities. Migration population data from Baidu Inc. were used to examine the relationship between the changes of nighttime light and the population migration. The results show that, during the non-festival to Spring Festival period, the decrease in LA values coincided with negative net immigration. During the Spring Festival to non-festival period, the LA values increased, which coincided with positive net immigration. The F-test shows that the positive linear relationship between the normalized change in LA and the normalized net immigration is significant at the 0.05 level. This strongly indicates that population migration causes changes in LA. Moreover, while the population is considerably less in these cities during the Spring Festival, the ALI is noticeably higher, which suggests that urban activities are intensified during this period. This study demonstrates the applicability of using Luojia 1-01 nighttime images to detect the nighttime light changes for the Spring Festival in western cities, China, which can then be used to evaluate population migration and urban activities in the Spring Festival. Considering the higher spatial resolution of Luojia 1-01 than NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) / VIIRS (Visible infrared Imaging Radiometer), this study may inspire more applications of Luojia 1-01 to track the activities in a variety of festival-cultures and cities