TEMPORAL ALTERATION OF URBAN CLIMATE IN GURUGRAM : UHI CHARACTERIZATION

Abstract

Urbanization is growing at such level that more than half the world’s population are living in urban area or cities of various classes. World is moving towards urban transition – rural areas area losing their identity and amalgamate into near urban sector forming a huge urban centers. This global shift of population has various impact over urban areas throughout the globe such as issues including food, water, and energy consumption. The urban heat island (UHI) is a phenomenon where rapid and unplanned urbanization of cities and concomitant reduction in vegetation result in raised temperature compared to non-urban areas. UHI effect is exacerbated when the natural land features is modified with an artificial surfaces that also alter the city aerodynamic properties (geometry of the urban sector), radiative, thermal (albedo of the materials used), and moisture properties of the landmass compared to the natural surroundings. UHI can be quantified in several ways: by estimating and comparing present temperature pattern to previous data, by evaluating temperature difference between urban and rural patches and preparing land surface temperature (LST). SUHI is the heat island effect generated by heating of infrastructure. The study focused on the surface UHI, surface UHI thermal trend can be identify in day time as well as in night time. UHI quantification is done by exploring temperature difference between urban center and its surrounding region, evaluating LST with respect to LULC distribution. UHI magnitude mathematically can be explain as: A0 = Tu -Tr , where A0 is UHI magnitude; Tu explain as temperature of urban center ; Tr is rural or underdeveloped region temperature. Other parameters like spatial extent, critical point and orientation for UHI is also measured. The LULC for the Gurugram city considering some spatial extent as buffer zone is prepared using LANDSAT data, map is prepared using supervised classification in ArcGIS, the layers like build up, water, vegetation (dense and sparse), barren land etc. is classified. The research result has been concluded with the result of the objective set for the study that is quantification of UHI with respect to LULC. The result shows status of UHI effect in Gurugram city in increasing trend both in magnitude as well as in spatial extent.