Effect of vegetation and built-up areas on the spatial variation of urban light pollution / Nur Syafiqh Afiah

Land use changes may impact the convective system development, temperature, and atmospheric circulation which can lead to light pollution. Current technology in Remote Sensing and GIS techniques is the most effective approach to studying and analyzing the geographical effect of light pollution, especially in urban areas. Thus, this study aims to determine The Spatial Variation of Urban Light Pollution Due to Vegetation and Built-Up Areas in The Northern Region of Peninsular Malaysia Between 2014 and 2021 using the satellite Remote Sensing and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) approach. The satellite remote sensing images of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day Night Band (VIIRS DNB), was used to derive light pollution. Then, the Landsat 8 OLI satellite image was used to produce vegetation and built-up indices from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI) respectively. Based on the relationships at a global and local stage between light pollution with NDVI and NDBI, It was found that the spatial variation of light pollution was increased due to NDVI and NDBI. Between the years 2014, and 2021, the GWR results (r-sq=0.743 in 2014 and 0.692 in 2021 respectively also improved the global model of OLS (r-sq.= 0.150 in 2014 and 0.041 in 2021). The maps of significant locations of the light pollution spatial variation show that Kulim Kedah and Pinang in 2014 and it expand to other locations in Kedah such as Kota Setar, Sungai Petani, Merbok, and Pokok Sena in Kedah region for 2021. Overall, the satellite RS and GWR approach can be possibly used to determine the changes and spatial variation of light pollution.