Analysis of Land Surface Temperature Dynamics in Islamabad by Using MODIS Remote Sensing Data

Noor ul Ain Binte Wasif Ali, Sarah Amir, Kanwar Muhammad Javed Iqbal, Ashfaq Ahmad Shah, Zafeer Saqib, Nadia Akhtar, Wahid Ullah and Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq ()
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Noor ul Ain Binte Wasif Ali: Department of Environmental Science, International Islamic University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Sarah Amir: Department of Environmental Science, International Islamic University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Kanwar Muhammad Javed Iqbal: National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA), Bahria University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Ashfaq Ahmad Shah: Research Center for Environment and Society, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Zafeer Saqib: Department of Environmental Science, International Islamic University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Nadia Akhtar: Department of Environmental Science, International Islamic University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Wahid Ullah: Department of Sociology, University of Chakwal, Chakwal 48800, Pakistan
Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq: College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 8001, Australia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: The rapid pace of unattended urbanization has caused the urban heat island phenomenon, due to which the United Nations SDGs agenda 2030 calls for immediate actions for “sustainable cities and communities”. In this context, the case of the emerging metropolitan city Islamabad has been studied based on its developmental discourse vis-à-vis associated environmental problems. A time-series trend for the land surface temperature was generated by investigating the change in minimum and maximum variability against a dataset of 1960–2012 which was obtained from the Pakistan Meteorological Department, along with MODIS LST images from January 2000 to December 2015. The statistical comparison of an eight-day composite of the maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperature reveals an increasing trend with R 2 values of 0.2507 (Tmin) and 0.1868 (Tmax). The box plots for both the Tmin and Tmax depict changes in seasonal patterns for Islamabad, with summers becoming longer and winters becoming harsher. Moreover, the application of the Mann–Kendall test affirmed the slope of the R 2 linear trend map and showed the temperature regression in the Margalla Hills National Park and in such urban zones which had an expanded vegetative cover. These findings will act as a guide for urban planners and future researchers to maintain a standardized urban heat island and promote the concept of sustainable cities in the future course of action.

Keywords: climate change; land surface temperature; MODIS; seasonal change; urban heat island effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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