-

journal of Health Science

Vol. 9 No.1 January - March 2000

Original Article

Urban Heat Island : Thermal Pollution

and Climate Change in Bangkok

Jariya Boonjawat*
Kiyoshi Niitsu**
Sachio Kubo** *
'Southesst ASia START Regional Center, c/o Environmental Research Institute. ChulaJongkorn University. Bangkok
10330. Thailand. e-mail jariya@start.or.th
'Japan Science and Technology Corporation. Keio University
5322 Endo. Fujisaw8. Kanagawa. 252-8520 Japan. e-mail papa@sfc.keio.ac.jp
'''Keio University, 5322 Endo. Fufisawa Kanagawa. 252-8520 Japan. e-mail skubo@sfc.keio.ac.jp

! Abstract: An urban heat island (UHI) is a phenomenon where temperatures in the city are higher
than that of the outlying suburban areas. In order to study such effect in Bangkok, three
measurement systems were employed to assess heat islands, land use/land cover and anthropo
genic heat discharge. A network of 7 automated ground-base monitoring stations was estab
lished for continuous observations providing so-minute interval weather data Satellite imag
ery data from NOAA, Landsat TM thermal bands, maps and Geographic Information System
(GIS) data were used for analyzing the spatial structure of land use and land cover. On the
other hand the heat, discharged from various land covers in and around Chulalongkom Univer
sity, was measured by a Thermography System. Throughout the 15 days in February 1998,
diurnal variations of heat island intensity profiles had been observed. The onset of an urban
heat island, defining as the temperature difference between Chulalongkorn University (city
center) and Asian Institute of Technology (suburban), became evident after sunset and a maxi
mum of 3.5C was reported during 13.00-7.00 am. The heat isl and intensity decreased markedIy
to - 1. 5C in the afternoon. Sea breeze and sol ar radi ation collectively pIayed major roles. In
addition. large trees in the city campus provided a cooling effect at 20-01 level down to ground
base temperature at t.50 m level. Sea breeze from the south direction could decrease the air
temperature in the southern part of Bangkok.

Introduction phenomena can also be observed in Bangkok.

An urban heat island (UHI) is a phenom
enon where temperatures in a city are higher than
that of suburban areas ou tside the city. Most stud
ies on Ul Il have been conducted in high-and mid
latitude cities. This study shows that the urban heal
There are several major causes that bring about
an urban heat island, which is a type of man-made
pollution , a thermal pollution:
(1) land cover change: a d ecrease of veg
etated area and open water in particular;

- -
 Urban Heat Island: Thermal Pollution and Climate Change in Bangkok
(2) building density and patterns: reflection
of heat waves between walls, or/and between
ground and walls increases solar heat absorption;
(3) anthropologic heat release from human
activities;
(4) wind barrier: tall buildings block wind
path; and
(5) various other economic reasons.
An urban heat island relates to local climatic
change, it only affects large cities, unlike global
warming which affects the global climate. Al
though affected areas are very small, the percent
age of affected population may rise to 50% in the
21 st cen tury.
An urban heat island may cause environmen
tal problems in w;.u
. m regions such as;
(1) increase energy use for air-condition ing
(2) increase in peak electricity demand, with
unstable electricity supply, or black outs
(3) change in biodiversity
(4) higher mortality on hot days
(5) acceleration of air and water pollution
(6) human discomfort, which may affect life
style and culture
This project aims to establish a monitoring
system to understand the UHI formation mecha
n ism as the first step, and to finds policies for miti
gation as the second step.
Methodology
Three measurement systems were used in this
study: measuremen t of heat islands, measurement
of land-use/land cover, and measurement of an
thropogenic heat discharge.
I. A network of automated ground-base
monitoring stations':" was established for con
tinuous observation. In Bangkok, 7 Davis stations
provide 30 minute interval weather data (tempera
ture, relative humidity, solar radiation, precipita
tion, pressure, wind speed and wind direction).
They are: Asian Institute of Technology (NT);
Chulalongkorn University (CU); Kasetsart Univer
sity (KU); King Mongkut's Institute of Technol
(;0
ogy, Ladkrabang (KMlTL); King Mongkut's Uni
versity of Technology, Tho nbu r i (KMUTT);
Mahidol University, Salaya Campus (MU); and
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center
(SEAFDEC). For vertical temperature profiles, bal
loons equipped with temperature and humidity
sensors were used at CU- Stadium, AlT, Bangkok
Metropolitan Admin istration Sport Center (BMA
Stadium in Bangmod), and the green conserva
tion area at Bangkrachao (BKC) which belongs
to the Office of Environmental Policy and Plan
nmg.
2. Satellite imagery data from NOAA,
Landsat TM thermal bands, maps and Geographic
Information System (GIS) data were used for ana
lyzing the spatial structure of land use and land
cover.
3. A Thermo Graphy System which remotely
measures the surface temperature distribution of
an object through infrared radiation, 'was set up
on the 20th floor of the new building in the Fac
ulty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn U niversi ty to
measure the heat discharged from various land
covers in and around the University.
Results
1. Diurnal variation and heat island inten
sit),
The heat island intensity was defined as the
temperature difference between the city center:
Chulalongkorn University (CD) and a suburban
area: Asian Institute ofTechnology (AlT). Accord
ing to a series of land use / land cover maps of
Bangkok (LandsatTM, 1988, 94, 98) (2,3) which
showed the relationship between the heat island
intensity with the built-up area of Bangkok. Heal
island intensity observed from North-South axis
located ground stations on 15 fine days during
February 13th-28th 1998 showed diurnal variation
of heat island intensity profiles (Fig.la). The on
set of an urban heat island became evident after
sunset, and reached a maximum of 3.5C during
6:00-7:00am. It was noted that heat island inten
JournalofJlealth Science 2000 Pol 9 JVO. 1
 Changing
Heal Island Intensity
Temperature (OC) Feb 1!l !l 8 Fine Day (Fig. r a)

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Distance from AU [km]

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Fig . 1 Diurnal variati on of Heat Island Intensity ( a) , Temperature profil es of s-stations in the North-South axis
showing he at island intensity weakened by sea breeze , solar radiation, roughness, dust density during
dayt ime (b), stren gth ened by human activity, energy consumption and thermal radiation from buildings
(c).
 Urban Heat lsland : Thermal Pollution and Climate Change in Bangkok

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Fig. 2 (a) Vertical air temperature profiles observed by balloon experiment. CU and AIT on March 3t/99
between CU and Bangkrachau (BKC) on April 2
(b) Vertical air temperature profiles ob served by balloon experiment. CU and Bangkrachau (BKC) on
April znd

C:trJ Journal ofJiealth Science 2000 Pol. 9 ,No_1

 Area
Average temperature "C
Fig. 3 Landscape of Chulalongkorn University (a) and its thermal image (b) taken on March
12:06:09 LST. Box 1: roof of building; Box 2 : trees; and Box 3 : grass land.
sity decreased to -1.5 "C in the afternoon. This phe
nomenon could be explained by the combination
effect of sea breeze (Fig. 1b) and solar radiation.
Starting from 13:00hr, the ground temperature
at SEAFDEC and KlvIUrr which were nearer to
the sea became cooler, and also at CU, compared
to AIT. In the day time, stronger solar radiation
'was observed at AIT and SEAFDEC compared to
CU and KlvI UTI, because of the roughness of the
built up area and dust density at CU and KMU1T
which reduced about 20% of solar radiation from
the 750 J.m o2 observed at AlT.
At sun set, temperature at AlT fell with loss
of solar radiation, whereas urban heat island
showed up the acumulative effects of human ac
tivity, energy consumption, and thermal radiation
from buildings (Fig. Ie).
2. Effect of land cover type on vertical air
temperature profile
The comparison of vertical air temperature
profiles between AlT and CU confirmed the ef
fect ofsea breeze at CU (Fig.2a) and KIvlUTI (Fig
ure not shown) to be about one degree different
at a height of 20- 150 m duting 13.50 - 16.50 h.
Between AITand CU, stronger solar radiation ac
Box 1 Box 2 Box 3
38.7 31.3 34.6
30, 1999 at
counted for a difference of about 2C, whichde
creased by late afternoon. The most 'prominent
effect of green area (EKC) could be observed at
the canopy level of20 m, which was 2C lower than
CU (Fig. 2b).
3. Remote measurement of potential heat
sources in urban areas
The thermal images detected by Thermo
graphy system with respect to different types of
surface cover shown in Fig. 3a and 3b, marked by
Box L roof of building; Box 2: trees; and Box 3 :
grass land, showed that large trees had a much
higher cooling capacity com paved to grass land.
By this method the relative heat capacity of differ
en t roofmaterials, color of m ateri als could be com
pared in terms of apparent surface temperature
remotely and timely.
Discussion & Conclusion
The results indicate that the urban heat is
land phenomena exists in Bangkok showing a di
urnal variation with the highest intensity during
night time of about 3.5 C in February 1998 be
tween CU and AlT. Analysis, using Land-sat TM
data by Kurisaki et al. in January 1998 showed the
 Urban Heat Island: Thermal Pollution and Climate Change in Bangkok
maximum heat island intensity of surface tempera
lure up to 5.5C which agree well with air tem
perature profiles in this study. Comparing the
monthly average Heat Island Intensity (HII) in the
whole year 1998, seasonal variation was observed
with highest HII in january, decreasing to about
2.7 in September or "Rainy" season and minimal
during March and April. Komolveeraket, 19984 re
ported the difference in surface temperature be
tween downtown and suburban areas by Land-sat
TM data on April 24, 1997 at 1.7 C, which was
similar to our results. All these results confirmed
the UHI phenomena of Bangkok.
Comparing the long term trend ofair by tem
perature in Bangkok with Tokyo, the minimum
temperature of Bangkok has increased by 1.23 C
in 50 years (from 23.39 C in 1951), whereas To
kyo experienced +2.8 C rise in 135 years or about
1.03C in 50 years!" The results indicate that large
trees can provide a cooling effect at 20-m level
down to ground-base temperature at 1.50 m level.
Sea breezes from a south direction can decrease
the air temperature in the southern part of
Bangkok. Difference in heat capacity of roof ma
terials and color of buildings should be further
investigated in order to mitigate the heat dis
charged from built up area. Good urban planning
is necessary to avoid blocking of sea breeze or
provide ventilation path into a mega-ciry.P'
Acknowledgement
This project is financially supported byJapan
Science and Technology Corporation, Southeast
Asia START Regional Center, Environmental Re
search Institute, Chulalongkorn University. The
authors thank logistic support from Asian Insti
tute of Technology (AJT); Chulalongkom Univer
sity (CU); Kasetsart University (KU); King
Mongkut's Institute of Technology, Ladkrabang
(K1\UTL); King Mongkur's University of Techno1
ogy, Thonburi (KivlUIT); Mahidol University,
Salaya Campus (MU); and Southeast Asian Fish
eries Developmen t Cen ter (SEAFDEC) for ground
base monitoring stations, and permission for bal
loon experiment at CU- Stadium, AIT, Bangkok
Metropolitan Administration Sport Center (BMA
Stadium in Bangmod), and the green conserva
tion area at Bangkrachao (BKC) which belongs
to the Office of Environmental Policy and Plan
OlOg.
References
1. Kubo S. Urban Heat Island Monitoring and Management
Project. Proceedings of International Symposium Moni
toring and Managemen I of Urban Heat Island ; 1997 Nov
19-20; Fujisawa Campus, ,KEIO University. Tokyo :Japan
Science and Technology; 1997.
2. Kubo S, Niitsu K., Sai 1', Ohmori 1', Takahashi T. Installa
tion of monitoring network and primary analysis of heat
island in Bangkok and Shanghai. In : Interim report of
Monitoring and Management System of Urban Heat Is
land Project. Tokyo.japan Science and Technology Cor
poration; 1999.
3. Komolveeraket K. The effec t of land U5e change on ur
ban he at island phenomena in Bangkok [Master Thesis].
Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University; 1998.
4. Yanagiwa K, Ushiyama M, Mikarni T. A analysis of diur
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K, lima Luft lind Laerrn foer die Planung "Stuttgart 21.~
1999.
I Journal ofJif!rdlh Science 2000 VoL 9 Jfo. 1
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