Urban Heat Island Characterization and Isotherm Mapping Using Geo-Informatics Technology in Ahmedabad City, Gujarat State, India

Abstract

India has witnessed tremendous industrialization in the last five decades. This has led to migration of masses from rural areas towards cities for jobs and businesses. With increase in the population, the demand for residences has also increased which has escalated growth of slum areas and haphazard planning in suburbs. City of Ahmedabad is one such urban metropolis in the state of Gujarat, India. Being the financial capital of Gujarat, population of the city has increased many folds since 1980s. Congested and unsustainable planning and increasing in the emissions from industries and vehicles in certain areas of the city have given birth to many climatic issues. One of these major problems is the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomena. This has increased the temperature by four to five degrees and has also severely affected air quality. Satellite based Remote sensing data can provide temperature information of various land use classes. Remote Sensing data along with in-situ surface measurements can help to identify urban heat island intensities and hotspots in the cities. A study on heat island characterization and isotherm mapping was taken up in Ahmedabad City. In the present study, Surface Heat Island (SHI) effect is studied using satellite data along with field measurements. Thermal infrared data from Landsat ETM band-6 have been effectively used for monitoring temperature differences of various land use classes in urban areas. The study aims to identify and study the urban hot spots using the data from LANDSAT-5 and field data collected using IR Gun in various zones of Ahmedabad City. The results of this study indicated that the surface temperature near industrial areas and dense urban areas was higher as compared to other suburban areas in the Ahmedabad City.