Exploring spatiotemporal characteristics of economic development in Yunnan and Myanmar based on nighttime light remote sensing
LANG Yunfan1(), LI Yimin2,3(), LI Yuanting1, LIU Miao1, BAI Kebing2
1. Institute of International Rivers and Ecological Security，Yunnan University，Kunming 650500，China 2. School of Earth Sciences，Yunnan University，Kunming 650500，China 3. Yunnan International Joint Laboratory of China-Laos-Bangladesh-Myanmar Natural Resources Remote Sensing Monitoring，Kunming 650500，China
Investigating the regional economic development of Yunnan Province-a radiation center facing Southeast Asia-and Myanmar-a country along the Belt and Road Initiative-is of great significance for promoting the construction of a China-Myanmar community with a shared future. Based on NPP/VIIRS nighttime light data，as well as spatial analysis methods including the centroid model，standard deviation ellipse，and Moran's I index，this study analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of economic development in the Yunnan-Myanmar region from 2013 to 2022. The results indicate a significant correlation between nighttime light and gross domestic product （GDP） data in the Yunnan-Myanmar region. From 2013 to 2022，the total nighttime light intensity in the Yunnan-Myanmar region showed a steadily increasing trend. From the perspective of the characteristics of economic development direction in the region，the economic centroid generally shifted southwestward first and then northeastward. The area of the standard deviation ellipse trended upward from 2013 to 2020 but trended downward in 2022. The long axis of the ellipse showed an increasing trend before 2020 but decreased slightly thereafter，while the short axis showed a stable increasing trend. The azimuth remained largely unchanged. In terms of the spatial correlation of economic development in the region，areas with high nighttime light intensity were primarily concentrated in the central Yunnan urban agglomeration，while those with low nighttime light intensity were mainly distributed in the eastern and western parts of Myanmar. This study can provide a valuable reference for economic and trade exchanges between China and Myanmar，as well as for the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.
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LANG Yunfan, LI Yimin, LI Yuanting, LIU Miao, BAI Kebing. Exploring spatiotemporal characteristics of economic development in Yunnan and Myanmar based on nighttime light remote sensing. Remote Sensing for Natural Resources, 2025, 37(5): 233-242.
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