URBAN HEAT ISLAND INTENSITY IN LAHORE: A LANDSAT-DERIVED TIME-SERIES (2000–2023)

Abstract

Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) have become a significant urban environmental problem, especially in fast-growing cities of the Global South. Lahore, the second-largest city of Pakistan, has undergone an unparalleled urbanization in the last two decades leading to prolonged thermal discomfort, rising energy consumption and health risks. In present work, spatiotemporal dynamics of UHII are evaluated at Lahore for the years 2000 and 2023 through multi-temporal Landsat imagery. Land Surface Temperature (LST) was estimated using land-imaging sensors of Landsat 5, 7, 8 and 9 thermal bands while Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was incorporated into understanding the relationship between land cover and temperature. The findings showed that UHII increase is increasing at the all-study area with an average of 2.1 °Curing the year time span of this research. The increase in impervious surfaces and reduction of green cover were the most important contributors to UHIs development (especially in inner-city or urban-suburban areas). Results are consistent with global observations yet reveal concentrated socio-environmental vulnerabilities: higher heat exposure exists in the most marginalized communities. This study accentuates the necessity of urban greening, climate-responsive planning and policy measures for alleviation of urban heat stress.

Keywords: Urban Heat Island, Landsat, Lahore, Land Surface Temperature, Remote Sensing, Climate Change, Time-series