Analytical Study of Cold Waves in the Lattakia Region During the Period 1960-2020 and Assessment of Their Damages Using Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing

This research aims to study negative thermal anomalies (cold waves) associated with extreme climatic conditions in Syria during the period (1960-2020). It includes the study and analysis of minimum temperatures in the Lattakia region and determines the extent of deviation of the daily minimum temperature average from the overall daily average at the Lattakia, Qastal Ma'afu, and Slunfah stations during the study period. The research also conducted a statistical analysis of cold waves and their general trend in the study area using the XLSTAT program. Furthermore, the level of damage caused by cold waves that led to frost occurrences in the Zghrin and Bloran plains was assessed using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), relying on 12 cloud-free Landsat 8 satellite images (with a spatial resolution of 30m) taken before and after frost events in the following years: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, and 2022, within the ArcMap 10.8 program. The results showed several levels of damage, with significant and meaningful correlations recorded at a 95% confidence level between the decrease in the vegetation density index and frost events in the studied cases.