Gauging land surface temperatures with changes in land use land cover: a spatiotemporal analysis of Gaya City, Bihar

Population growth and wider development activities in a city yield land‐use land cover (LULC) changes. Changes in LULC in turn relate to land surface temperature (LST) changes. This study examines the spatio‐temporal variation in LST in Gaya City, Bihar, India brought about by changes in LULC. It also analyses changes in the village‐wise mean LST located within a 5 km buffer zone of the formal city boundary. The mono window algorithm was employed to calculate LST while further zonal statistics were conducted to examine the village‐level mean LST. Pearson's correlation coefficient method was used in analysing the correlation among different spectral indices between the year 2006 and 2022. ArcMap‐10.8 and SPSS‐14.0 software were used to complete all algorithm and statistical calculations. Our analysis revealed that as built‐up and sandy areas in Gaya City increased by 175 per cent and 54 per cent respectively during the study period (with most of the increment occurring within the city boundary), there was a corresponding increase of more than 9°C in mean LST. The correlation between spectral indices and LST strengthened in 2022 relative to the reference year of 2006.