Impact of Urbanisation on Land Surface Temperature in Nagpur, Maharashtra

Abstract

India has experienced a rapid urbanisation over the last decades due to accelerated demographic and economic growth. The transformations of natural landscapes into impervious urban land due to urbanisation modify the local weather and climate. This paper is an attempt to investigate the urbanisation and its impact on land surface temperature using integrated approach of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS) in Nagpur city, India for the period 1998–2015. The main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between urbanisation and land surface temperature by analysing spatio-temporal patterns of urbanisation and land surface temperature in Nagpur city using RS data and GIS. Landsat imageries of two different time periods, i.e. 1998 and 2015, were analysed in the core of GIS for detecting urbanisation and assessing land surface temperature in the region. Then, the land surface temperature data was linked to land use data of Nagpur city for further investigations of the relationship between land surface temperature behaviour and urban structures. The results indicate that during the study period, the growth was uneven in urban areas. This rapid urban growth had increased surface radiant temperature by 1.33 °C in the urbanised area. The study also proves that the integrated approach of RS and GIS is an effective approach for monitoring and analysing urban growth patterns and evaluating urbanisation impact on land surface temperature.