Urban cooling effect of rivers: its role in climate change mitigation

Natural landscapes, such as rivers, can moderate intense heat in cities and provide a salubrious environment. This study aimed to evaluate how different urban forms affect the urban cooling effect of rivers. Landsat 8 satellite images were used to extract the water index, vegetation, bare land/non-vegetated land, built-up area, built-up density, and vegetation density from two study sites. The impact of urban forms on the cooling effect of rivers was analysed through ordinary least squares method via exploratory regression analysis and scatter plot diagrams. Analysis revealed that natural landscapes have a positive relationship with surface temperature, whereas other urban forms have a negative trend. Although both sites displayed the same trend for every urban form, statistical analysis revealed different adjusted R² values for every set of independent variables for each study site in the exploratory regression analysis report, justifying the variation of the influence of urban forms.