UAV-BASED THERMAL MAPPING FOR INTRA-URBAN HEAT ISLAND CHARACTERIZATION IN A TROPICAL UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

Urban heat islands exhibit strong spatial variability at micro-scales that are often unresolved by satellite-based thermal products. This study presents a UAV-based thermal mapping approach for characterizing intra-urban heat island (IUHI) patterns within a dense tropical university campus in Manila, Philippines. Thermal infrared imagery was acquired using an unmanned aerial vehicle and processed through a GIS-based workflow to generate high-resolution surface temperature maps. Spatial filtering and classification were applied to differentiate building-related and non-building heat sources, enabling the identification of localized hotspots and cold-spot zones across open and built environments. The resulting thermal maps reveal pronounced temperature heterogeneity driven by land cover, building density, and shading conditions, with localized hotspots emerging in exposed open areas and between building clusters. Comparative analysis of thermal maps with and without building masks highlights the influence of built structures on heat accumulation and spatial heat distribution. The results demonstrate that UAV-derived thermal data can effectively capture fine-scale thermal patterns that are not observable in coarser satellite products, supporting detailed IUHI assessment in compact urban environments. This work underscores the value of UAV thermal remote sensing as a flexible and high-resolution tool for urban climate analysis, particularly in tropical cities where heat stress poses increasing risks to public health and outdoor comfort. The proposed workflow provides a scalable framework for campus-scale and neighborhood-scale heat mapping, supporting data-driven urban heat assessment and planning. Within the context of institutional sustainability initiatives such as Adamson University’s ECO-FALCON program, the results demonstrate how high-resolution thermal characterization can support evidence.