Assessing the Impact of Urbanization on Urban Thermal Environment: A Case Study of Bangkok Metropolitan
Manat SRIVANIT, Kazunori Hokao, Vivarad Phonekeo

Abstract
The Bangkok metropolitan area (BMA) is one of the regions experiencing rapid urbanization that has resulted in remarkable the urban thermal environment problems, which will be sure to influence the regional climate, environment, and socio-economic development. In this study, LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery from 1994, 2000 and 2009, were utilized to assess urban area thermal characteristics by investigating the relationships between the land surface temperature (LST) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). It was found that average surface temperature (MeanS.D.) in the BMA was about 26.015.89˚C in 1994, but this difference jumped to 37.762.84˚C in 2000 and further to 39.792.91˚C in 2009, respectively. This could lead to an intensified urban thermal effect in the urban areas. Overall, remote sensing technology was effective approaches for aiming at environment monitoring and analyzing urban growth patterns and evaluating their impacts on urban climates.

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