The influence of land use land cover on the land surface temperature and vegetation index of Pune city, India

Abstract

Abstract The changes in land use land cover (LULC) over time intensifies the land surface temperature (LST). The variation in LST can be extracted from satellite imagery from different spatial resolutions for the summer month. In this study, through remote sensing and GIS techniques, the LST variation is quantified over different LULC classes from 2000 to 2020 using Landsat data in Pune City. The result shows an overall increase in the percentage of the built from 68.43% in 2000 to 85.31% in 2020, displaying a 16.88% rise during the study period. Further, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is extracted from the satellite imagery at different spatial resolutions for the summer months, and is quantified over the LULC classes for the duration of the study. The extreme variation in the mean NDVI values is seen in the areas with salt pans, semi arid areas, wetland-sparse vegetation and wetland–tree cover, i.e. areas near water bodies and the peripheral areas with less vegetation. The association of NDVI with LST shows a negative correlation that justifies the rise in surface temperature with the intensity of vegetation in the city. The results of this study shall help the planners, architects and policy makers to evaluate the current status of urbanisation, to make informed choices that lead to sustainable cities.