Analysis of cooling effect of water bodies on land surface temperature in nearby region: A case study of Ahmedabad and Chandigarh cities in India

Abstract

Erratic and unplanned development of the urban area has posed a threat to the environment in a country like India where the development is haphazard mostly. Congested and unsustainable planning, reduction in green covers and increased emissions from industries and vehicles have given birth to many climatic issues. One such issue is land surface temperature (LST) variations giving rise to Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. This study evaluates and provides direct evidence with the help of remote sensing technique about how stream water features affect the temperature variation in urban areas where the land use condition is very distinct. Surface water bodies present in an area are responsible for prospective cooling through evaporation thereby reducing the heating effect. Landsat images of the years 2009, 2010 and 2011of 30-meter resolution has been processed to produce the LST of the study areas. Water bodies, i.e., Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh and Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad are the research points to find the variation in microclimate developed near these water bodies. An appreciable average temperature dip of 7.51 °C and 3.12 °C is observed during summer and winter, respectively for three years near the Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh city. An average dip of about 1.57 °C and 1.71 °C is observed during summer and winter, respectively on the right bank of Sabarmati river up to an influence distance of about 200 to 300 m. The average fall of temperature near the left bank is about 0.69 °C and 0.65 °C during summer and winter, respectively.