Impact of urbanization and land surface temperature changes in a coastal town in Kerala, India

Rapid urbanization and unscientific developments have resulted in large-scale degradation of the environment around major cities all over the world. The problem is acute in many tropical and sub-tropical Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) having high population density and are undergoing rapid economic developments. Lack of adequate studies to contain the ill-effects of developments is major challenge before the decision makers at different levels. In this paper, an attempt has been carried out to examine the spatio-temporal changes in urban growth and land surface temperature (LST) responses in a coastal city in SW India, the Thiruvananthapuram city (Kerala) that enjoys a tropical wet climate, as an example. Landsat imageries of 1988, 2000 and 2019 have been used to estimate the extent of urban growth and LST changes. The study revealed a marked decrease in vegetation cover (125–71 km2) and barren land (7–4 km2) in the area during 1988–2019. The built-up area showed a marked increase from 10 to 68 km2. It was noticed that the average LST has been increased from 26.5 °C to 28.1 °C during the study period. The study stresses the imminent need for strengthening the extent of green cover in the area and make developments more environment-friendly.