Effects of rapid urbanisation on the urban thermal environment between 1990 and 2011 in Dhaka Megacity, Bangladesh

This study investigates the influence of land-use/land-cover (LULC) change on land surface temperature (LST) in Dhaka Megacity, Bangladesh during a period of rapid urbanisation. LST was derived from Landsat 5 TM scenes captured in 1990, 2000 and 2011 and compared to contemporaneous LULC maps. We compared index-based and linear spectral mixture analysis (LSMA) techniques for modelling LST. LSMA derived biophysical parameters corresponded more strongly to LST than those produced using index-based parameters. Results indicated that vegetation and water surfaces had relatively stable LST but it increased by around 2 °C when these surfaces were converted to built-up areas with extensive impervious surfaces. Knowledge of the expected change in LST when one land-cover is converted to another can inform land planners of the potential impact of future changes and urges the development of better management strategies

Climate change and health: an overview of the issues and needs

This introductory chapter outlines some of the key issues related to climate change and health, as well as some areas where action is needed, so as to allow a more systematic approach towards the problem. It outlines the challenges of Climate change to societies and its impacts on human health; considers the influence on various groups of stakeholders and suggests some measures, which may lead to a better understanding of the connections between human health and ever changing climate conditions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio