Impact of land use and land cover changes on urban land surface temperature

Abstract

The objectives of this chapter are to quantify the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on land surface temperature (LST) and to map the changes in the spatial and temporal distribution of LST. A transition matrix was used to determine LULC changes in a multi-temporal manner. LST was retrieved using Landsat TIR data from 1990 to 2011, and statistical analyses were carried out to determine the relationship between LSTs and biophysical parameters. The results showed that the expansion of urban built-up surface over natural land cover such as floodplain and agricultural land has become conspicuous, significantly affecting the spatial and temporal distribution of surface temperature. Annual mean land surface temperature estimation revealed that urban built-up surface consistently has the highest ambient radiant temperature during the study period. A decrease in vegetation cover and subsequent increase in urban land cover were found to be associated with increased LST, suggesting an amplification of the UHI effect with time.