Land use-land cover (LULC) transformation and its relation with land surface temperature changes: A case study of Barrackpore Subdivision, West Bengal, India

Unplanned urban growth and changes of Land-use land cover (LULC) is the warning scenario for towns and cities in world wide. The transformation of natural land to impervious areas has induced in local microclimate variations and changes the surface energy budget. The main objective of the present study is to delineate land-use/land-cover changes and its relation to increases Land Surface Temperature (LST) in Barrackpore Subdivisional area, West Bengal using multi-spectral satellite data. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) data were used in seasons wise (January, April, and November) to analyze LST variations for two different periods of 1990 and 2016. According to the current census report, 40 lakh people live in the study area, out of which 95% of people habitat in urban areas. The growth rate of urban land was 162% during 26 years of the time period. Non-built-up lands have encroached by more than 50% of land loss. The outcome result shows that mean LST has growth 3 °C and 4 °C in winter and summer seasons as well. It is founded that built-up areas are radiated the highest temperature in all seasonal phases which is followed by fallow land, agricultural land, vegetation, and water surfaces. Urban land converted from other evaporating land has raised in mean LST with 3.1 °C–3.2 °C in winter seasons; 4.22°C- 4.4 °C in summer seasons; and lastly 4.36 °C–4.57 °C in autumn season. Different indices, e.g. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) were derived to analysis and validate the relationship between LST and different land-use classes. The liner negative regression slope has found between NDVI and LST with a correlation coefficient (R²) varies from 0.429 to 0.67 from 1990 to 2016. R² values have increased from 1990 to 2016 for every season that indicates the control of vegetation on LST. Seasons statistical relationship between LST and NDBI has exhibited a positive correlation that confirmed impervious surface has strongly influenced to upsurge the surface temperature. Water Surfaces are radiated mean 1 °C less temperature than other land use categories. The regression line is showing the negative relationship between LST-Wetland and Water Bodies which shows the LST effects are very less over extreme humid or moisture areas. The concentration of hotspot and cold spot areas was delineating using the spatial autocorrelation method of Getis-Ord Gi* formula, as the result shows that increased of hotspot areas from 19.9% to 35.3% in January month, 10.25%–16.40% in April month and 15.38%–37.4% in November month during the entire study periods. So, the municipal authority can take new decision policies and management to reduce the effects of LST for sustainable development in the further future.