Urban Expansion and Thermal Stress: A Remote Sensing Analysis of LULC and Urban Heat Islands in Ghaziabad, India

The climate and environment of metropolitan areas have been negatively impacted by swift urbanization and industrialization. Surface Urban Heat Islands (SUHIs) are among the most critical environmental phenomena. This research focused on the spatiotemporal analysis of land use/land cover (LULC) changes in relation to surface urban heat islands and their interconnections from 1992 to 2022. Land Surface Temperature (LST), LULC, and LULC indices, such as the Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), were generated using Landsat data. Urban hot spots (UHSs) were identified, and the Urban Thermal Field Variance Index (UTFVI) was then used to evaluate the spatiotemporal variation in thermal comfort. The results indicated LST values between a low of 14.24 and a maximum of 46.30. Urban areas and exposed surfaces, such as open or bare soil, exhibit the highest surface radiant temperatures. Conversely, regions characterized by vegetation and water bodies have the lowest. Additionally, this study explored the correlation between LULC, LULC indices, LST, and SUHIs. LST and NDBI show a positive relationship because of urbanization and industrialization (R2 = 0.57 for the year 1992, R2 = 0.38 for the year 2010, and R2 = 0.35 for the year 2022), while LST shows an inverse relationship with NDVI and NDMI. Urban development should account for thermal sensitivity in densely populated regions. This study introduced an innovative spatiotemporal framework for monitoring long-term changes in urban surface environments. Furthermore, this research can assist planners in creating urban green spaces in cities of developing nations to minimize the adverse impacts of urban heat islands and improve thermal comfort.