Spatio-Temporal Variation in Landforms and Surface Urban Heat Island in Riverine Megacity

Abstract

Rapid urbanization and changing climatic procedures can activate the present surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect. An SUHI was considered by temperature alterations among urban and rural surroundings. The urban zones were frequently warmer than the rural regions because of population pressure, urbanization, vegetation insufficiency, industrialization, and transportation systems. This investigation analyses the Surface-UHI (SUHI) influence in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), India. Growing land surface temperature (LST) may cause an SUHI and impact ecological conditions in urban regions. The urban thermal field variation index (UTFVI) served as a qualitative and quantitative barrier to the SUHI susceptibility. The maximum likelihood approach was used in conjunction with supervised classification techniques to identify variations in land use and land cover (LULC) over a chosen year. The outcomes designated a reduction of around 1354.86 Ha, 653.31 Ha, 2286.9 Ha, and 434.16 Ha for vegetation, bare land, grassland, and water bodies, correspondingly. Temporarily, from the years 1991–2021, the built-up area increased by 4729.23 Ha. The highest LST increased by around 7.72 °C, while the lowest LST increased by around 5.81 °C from 1991 to 2021. The vegetation index and LST showed a negative link, according to the correlation analyses; however, the built-up index showed an experimentally measured positive correlation. This inquiry will compel the administration, urban planners, and stakeholders to observe humanistic activities and thus confirm sustainable urban expansion.