13/02/2026
Urban Heat Across Greater Accra, Ghana 🌡️
I have been working on mapping Urban Heat Island (UHI) intensity across the Greater Accra Region using Landsat 9 data and ArcGIS Pro. This map shows how urbanization affects land-surface temperatures in both urban and peri-urban areas.
Key observations from the map:
Red / Dark Orange (hotspots): Densely built-up areas such as Downtown Accra, Osu, Tema city centre, and Kotoka International Airport surroundings show the highest temperatures due to concrete, asphalt, and low vegetation.
Yellow / Green (moderate heat): Mixed-use districts like Labadi, Adabraka, and Teshie have moderate temperatures.
Blue (cool islands): Vegetated or less built-up areas such as Legon Botanical Garden, Korle Lagoon surroundings, and coastal parks in Ada and Shai Hills remain cooler illustrating the cooling influence of green and blue spaces on the urban microclimate.
Workflow highlights:
-Calculated Land Surface Temperature (LST) from Landsat 9
-Digitized Greater Accra boundary for focused analysis
-Computed ΔLST (Urban – Rural) to quantify UHI intensity
-Classified results into five meaningful categories (Cool Island → Urban Heat Hotspot)
This analysis reinforces the role of urban form, land cover, and vegetation in shaping surface temperature patterns and has important implications for urban planning, climate resilience, and heat risk mitigation in rapidly growing.
