{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T22:44:45Z","timestamp":1772232285301,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":75,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,21]],"date-time":"2020-07-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1595289600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJGI"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Changes in the urban landscape resulting from rapid urbanisation and climate change have the potential to increase land surface temperature (LST) and the incidence of the urban heat island (UHI). An increase in urban heat directly affects urban livelihoods and systems. This study investigated the spatiotemporal variation of the UHI in the Kurunegala urban area (KUA) of North-Western Province, Sri Lanka. The KUA is one of the most intensively developing economic and administrative capitals in Sri Lanka with an urban system that is facing climate vulnerabilities and challenges of extreme heat conditions. We examined the UHI formation for the period 1996\u20132019 and its impact on the urban-systems by exploring nature-based solutions (NBS). This study used annual median temperatures based on Landsat data from 1996 to 2019 using the Google Earth Engine (GEE). Various geospatial approaches, including spectral index-based land use\/cover mapping (1996, 2009 and 2019), urban-rural gradient zones, UHI profile, statistics and grid-based analysis, were used to analyse the data. The results revealed that the mean LST increased by 5.5 \u00b0C between 1996 and 2019 mainly associated with the expansion pattern of impervious surfaces. The mean LST had a positive correlation with impervious surfaces and a negative correlation with the green spaces in all the three time-points. Impacts due to climate change, including positive temperature and negative rainfall anomalies, contributed to the increase in LST. The study recommends interactively applying NBS to addressing the UHI impacts with effective mitigation and adaptation measures for urban sustainability.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijgi9070461","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,22]],"date-time":"2020-07-22T03:23:16Z","timestamp":1595388196000},"page":"461","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":45,"title":["Spatiotemporal Variation of Urban Heat Islands for Implementing Nature-Based Solutions: A Case Study of Kurunegala, Sri Lanka"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7540-0103","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manjula","family":"Ranagalage","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Mihintale 50300, Sri Lanka"},{"name":"Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sujith S.","family":"Ratnayake","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Climate Change Secretariat, Ministry of Environment and Wildlife Resources, Battaramulla 10120, Sri Lanka"},{"name":"Ecosystem Management Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2619-7035","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"DMSLB","family":"Dissanayake","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Mihintale 50300, Sri Lanka"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9205-756X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lalit","family":"Kumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ecosystem Management Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hasula","family":"Wickremasinghe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Climate Change Secretariat, Ministry of Environment and Wildlife Resources, Battaramulla 10120, Sri Lanka"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jagathdeva","family":"Vidanagama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Colombo 10120, Sri Lanka"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hanna","family":"Cho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Korea Environment Institute, 5F, Bldg B, 232, Gareum-ro, Sejong 30121, Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3681-1924","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susantha","family":"Udagedara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Blue Resources Trust, 86, Barnce Place, Colombo 00700, Sri Lanka"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Keshav Kumar","family":"Jha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia, vC-3, Lower Ground Floor, Green Park Extension, New Delhi 110016,  India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6363-7410","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matamyo","family":"Simwanda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Resources, Copperbelt University, P.O. Box 21692, Kitwe 10101, Zambia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9593-4970","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Darius","family":"Phiri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Resources, Copperbelt University, P.O. Box 21692, Kitwe 10101, Zambia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"ENC","family":"Perera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Regional Science and Planning, SANASA Campus, Kegalle 71000, Sri Lanka"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Priyantha","family":"Muthunayake","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Municipal Council, Kurunegala 60000, Sri Lanka"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"The World Bank (2020, March 20). 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