Abstract

Urban heat Island (UHI) is the name given to the characteristic warmth of both the atmosphere and the lithosphere in cities (urban) compared to their rural (non-urbanized) surroundings. This study investi-gates the application of Landsat-ETM in the study of UHI. The study employed the normalized difference method to estimate Land Surface temperature (LST). The research assessed the level of UHI in Enugu urban as well as the application of Land sat-ETM in the study of UHI compared to the traditional rural-urban method. Results demonstrate that LST positively correlate with concentration of urban struc-tures, population density and human activities. Temperature gradients are formed at the Central Busi-ness District (CBD) in the downtown areas and progressively lowered to the suburbs. The study suggested the use of high density green cover, reflective roofing materials, building massing (arcades) and lightening of pavements as adaptive/mitigation measures against UHI in Enugu urban.

Key words: Urban heat Island, Land SAT/ETM, temperature, reflective, mitigation, adaptive.