Remote Sensing Analysis of Spatiotemporal Impacts of Climate Change on Land-use and Land-cover Dynamics in Pakistan

This study examined the spatiotemporal impacts of climate change in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The study included social, demographic, economic and physical susceptibility factors of the spatiotemporal impacts of climate change through land use and land-use change. The article indicates that the large population and urban structure are expanding. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) results for Rawalpindi and Islamabad from 2000 to 2020 indicate a gradual degradation of overall vegetation cover, mainly due to rapid urban expansion and land-use transformation during the study period. Spatial analysis (given in the maps) reveals that natural vegetation and agricultural areas have been replaced by impervious surfaces, reducing the overall vegetative extent. These results indicate that urban growth outpaced natural vegetation regeneration, leading to an overall decline in ecosystem health and vegetation continuity across the Rawalpindi–Islamabad region. This requires authorities to have comprehensive urban planning policies for sustainability.