Abstract

This chapter explores the application of geographic information systems (GIS) to analyse and project urban heat islands (UHIs) in the Yucatan Peninsula. Currently, UHIs are a significant problem in developing cities, especially in regions with tropical climates. The chapter presents a detailed methodology to detect UHI's presence and temporal growth from the processing and treatment of satellite images supported by climatological data measured in situ. Take the City of Francisco de Campeche case study, which has witnessed remarkable urban growth in the last decade and is estimated to continue in subsequent years. The surface temperature of the city and the vegetation index are analysed, and it is observed that it is possible to correlate both phenomena and indicate the increase in temperature associated with it. For the case study, the increase was 1.4 °C. Finally, the chapter presents proposals for mitigating the increase in temperature in the peninsular city based on reforestation and how these are linked to previous studies.