Mapping environmental impacts of rapid urbanisation and deriving relationship between NDVI, NDBI and surface temperature: A case study

Abstract

Urbanisation is a complex global phenomenon driven by unorganised expansion, increased immigration, and population explosion. Changes in land cover are one of the most critical components for managing natural resources and monitoring environmental impacts in this context. In the present study, a hybrid classification approach was applied to Landsat data to get insight into the urbanisation of the Chandigarh capital region from 2000 to 2020. The results demonstrate an increasing urbanisation tendency on the city's outskirts, particularly in the north-western and southern directions. The most considerable alterations were seen in the class vegetation as it swiftly transformed to built-up regions. Two indices, namely NDVI and NDBI and surface temperature images, were also derived from studying their inter-relationships. The paper suggests a positive linear relationship between surface temperature and NDBI while a negative correlation between NDVI and NDBI. Such studies may help city planners to take timely and appropriate efforts to reduce the environmental consequences of urbanisation.