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In the context of increasing climate change and rapid urban expansion in Ho Chi Minh City, rising temperatures pose significant heat stress and health risks to residents. Assessing heat vulnerability is crucial for improving thermal comfort and achieving sustainable urban development. However, there is limited research on heat vulnerability within Local Climate Zones (LCZs), which are essential for understanding the relationship between urban form and heat exposure. This study integrates the Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) with LCZ analysis to evaluate heat vulnerability across the city. Data were sourced from Landsat 8 to calculate Land Surface Temperature (LST), the Enhanced Normalized Difference Impervious Surfaces Index (ENDISI), the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI), and for LCZ classification using a random forest algorithm; LandScan for population density; OpenStreetMap for road and medical facility density; and VIIRS for nighttime lighting. The HVI model combines exposure (represented by Land Surface Temperature), sensitivity (calculated as an average of population density, road density, and ENDISI), and adaptability (calculated as an average of nighttime lighting, medical facilities, and MNDWI). The results show that built LCZs have significantly higher thermal exposure, sensitivity, and adaptability compared to natural LCZs. Greater vulnerability was observed in urbanized areas, with LCZ1 and LCZ2 having the highest HVI scores, and over 90% of their areas classified as highly vulnerable. Additionally, 158 out of 315 wards had HVI values exceeding 60%, with most located in urban areas. Notably, rural wards such as Pham Van Coi, Cu Chi, and Hoa Phu were identified as particularly vulnerable and in need of immediate attention. In conclusion, integrating LCZ and HVI provides key insights into heat vulnerability patterns, helping future studies optimize the spatial layouts of local climate zones to mitigate heat impacts and improve the urban thermal environment For the keywords, select up to 8 key terms for a search on your manuscript's subject.
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