Uncovering the Relationship between Land Use Land Cover (LULC) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) for the generation of Urban Heat Island (UHI)
Generating Urban Heat Islands using Land Surface Temperature and Land Use Land Cover
Keywords:
Urban Heat Islands,, VOS Viewer, Green Spaces, Bib Excel, Bibliometric, Land USe Land CoverAbstract
Urbanization drives economic growth and technological progress, but unplanned expansion leads to environmental degradation, loss of Urban Green Spaces (UGS), and the generation of Urban Heat Islands (UHI), adversely affecting ecological systems and public health. This study aimed to (1) identify land cover change patterns across Pakistan’s major climatic zones and assess their impact on Land Surface Temperature (LST) to generate UHI for 2019 by Getis-Ord Gi* hotspot analysis, and (2) consolidate sustainable urban development strategies amid rapid urbanization, population growth, and expanding megacities. Landsat OLI-TIRS (Operational Land Imager-Thermal Infrared Sensor) imagery for 2019 and climatic data were analyzed using supervised classification, NDVI-based LST retrieval, and hotspot analysis. Results show LST ranged from –26 °C in northern high-altitude regions to ~50 °C in southern and central plains. Zones B–E experienced strong to very strong UHI exposure, with built-up areas reaching ~50 °C, barren land ~48 °C, and sparse vegetation ~34 °C, while dense vegetation remained the coolest at ~27 °C. Bibliometric analysis of 287 publications (2006–2021) revealed increasing global research on UGS–LST–UHI relationships, though international collaboration remains limited. Findings underscore the critical role of green infrastructure and climate-sensitive urban planning in mitigating UHI and promoting resilient, sustainable urban development.
References
Abbas, S., Hussain, M. S., Im, S., Lee, S., & Shirazi, S. A. (2018). Urban growth and its effect on temperature trends of Lahore City, Pakistan. 기후연구, 13(3), 231-245. https://doi.org/10.14383/cri.2018.13.3.231
Afuye, G. A., Nduku, L., Kalumba, A. M., Santos, C. A. G., Orimoloye, I. R., Ojeh, V. N., & Sibandze, P. (2024). Global trend assessment of land use and land cover changes: A systematic approach to future research development and planning. Journal of King Saud University-Science, 36(7), 103262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2024.103262
Akhtar, N., Saqib, Z., Khan, M. I., Martin, M., Atif, S., & Rai, Z. (2019). A bibliometric analysis of contemporary research regarding industrial symbiosis: A path towards urban environmental resilience. Appl. Ecol. Env. Res., 17, 1159-1221. https://doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1701_11591221
Alharbi, R. S., Nath, S., Faizan, O. M., Hasan, M. S. U., Alam, S., Khan, M. A., & Saif, M. M. (2022). Assessment of Drought vulnerability through an integrated approach using AHP and Geoinformatics in the Kangsabati River Basin. Journal of King Saud University-Science, 34(8), 102332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2022.102332
Almeida, C. R. D., Teodoro, A. C., & Gonçalves, A. (2021). Study of the urban heat island (UHI) using remote sensing data/techniques: A systematic review. Environments, 8(10), 105. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments8100105
Anjum, R., He, X., Tanoli, J. I., & Raza, S. T. (2017). Contemporary temperature fluctuation in urban areas of Pakistan. Atmosphere, 8(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8010012
Arsalan, M. (2025). Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) Pattern and Trends in Main Cities of Pakistan: Lahore and Faisalabad. Environ. Sci. Ecol. Curr. Res, 6, 10112.
Arshad, M. Z., Iqbal, Z., & Kumar, M. S. (2024). The urban expansion and its effect on temperature trends of Faisalabad city, Pakistan. Natural and Applied Sciences International Journal, 5(1), 27-43. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.nasij/5.1.3
Artis, D. A., & Carnahan, W. H. (1982). Survey of emissivity variability in thermography of urban areas. Remote Sensing of Environment, 12(4), 313–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/0034-4257(82)90043-8
Baqa, M. F., Lu, L., Chen, F., Nawaz-ul-Huda, S., Pan, L., Tariq, A., ... & Li, Q. (2022). Characterizing spatiotemporal variations in the urban thermal environment related to land cover changes in Karachi, Pakistan, from 2000 to 2020. Remote Sensing, 14(9), 2164. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14092164
Bertoli-Barsotti, L., & Lando, T. (2017). A theoretical model of the relationship between the h-index and other simple citation indicators. Scientometrics, 111(3), 1415-1448. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2351-9
Bornmann, L., & Daniel, H. D. (2007). What do we know about the h-index?. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(9), 1381-1385. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.20609
Bounoua, L., Zhang, P., Mostovoy, G., Thome, K., Masek, J., Imhoff, M., & Toure, A. M. (2015). Impact of urbanization on US surface climate. Environmental Research Letters, 10(8), 084010. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/084010
Boyack, K. W., & Klavans, R. (2010). Co‐citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, and direct citation: Which citation approach represents the research front most accurately?. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61(12), 2389-2404. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21419
Breuste, J., Niemelä, J., & Snep, R. P. H. (2008). Applying landscape ecological principles in urban environments. Landscape Ecology, 23(10), 1139–1142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-008-9273-0
Cai, Y., Chen, Y., & Tong, C. (2019). Spatiotemporal evolution of urban green space and its impact on the urban thermal environment based on remote sensing data: A case study of Fuzhou City, China. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 41, 333-343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2019.04.012
Cobo, M. J., López‐Herrera, A. G., Herrera‐Viedma, E., & Herrera, F. (2011). Science mapping software tools: Review, analysis, and cooperative study among tools. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(7), 1382-1402. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21525
Deilami, K., Kamruzzaman, M., & Liu, Y. (2018). Urban heat island effect: A systematic review of spatio-temporal factors, data, methods, and mitigation measures. International journal of applied earth observation and geoinformation, 67, 30-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2017.12.009
Díaz, I., Cortey, M., Olvera, À., & Segalés, J. (2016). Use of H-index and other bibliometric indicators to evaluate research productivity outcome on swine diseases. PloS one, 11(3), e0149690. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149690
Dwivedi, A., Khire, M., Mohan, B., & Shah, S. (2019). The role of structural cooling to reduce the effect of the urban heat island in Mumbai. Advances in Building Energy Research, 13(2), 174-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512549.2018.1488611
Ejaz, F., Kausar, A., Maqsoom, A., Khan, O. I., & Lahori, A. H. (2025). Spatio-temporal analysis of Karachi metropolitan as an urban heat island. Advances in Space Research, 75(1), 331-352.
Fu, J., Dupre, K., Tavares, S., King, D., & Banhalmi-Zakar, Z. (2022). Optimized greenery configuration to mitigate urban heat: A decade systematic review. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 11(3), 466-491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2021.12.005
Garcia-Garcia, M. J., Christien, L., García-Escalona, E., & González-García, C. (2020). Sensitivity of green spaces to the process of urban planning. Three case studies of Madrid (Spain). Cities, 100, 102655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102655
Garousi, V., & Mäntylä, M. V. (2016). Citations, research topics and active countries in software engineering: A bibliometrics study. Computer Science Review, 19, 56-77.
Gourfi, A., Taïbi, A. N., Salhi, S., Hannani, M. E., & Boujrouf, S. (2022). The surface urban heat island and key mitigation factors in arid climate cities, case of Marrakesh, Morocco. Remote Sensing, 14(16), 3935. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14163935
Grigoraș, G., & Urițescu, B. (2018). Spatial hotspot analysis of Bucharest’s urban heat island (UHI) using MODIS data. Annals of Valahia University of Targoviste. Geographical Series, 18(1), 14-22.
Gu, D., Li, J., Li, X., & Liang, C. (2017). Visualizing the knowledge structure and evolution of big data research in healthcare informatics. International journal of medical informatics, 98, 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.11.002
Hamdi, I., AbdAlmapoed, E. K., & AbdElaal, S. R. (2025). Assessment of Urban Heat Island Effects in Industrial Areas of Egypt using Robust Statistical Methods. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 101777.
Hami, A., Abdi, B., Zarehaghi, D., & Maulan, S. B. (2019). Assessing the thermal comfort effects of green spaces: A systematic review of methods, parameters, and plants’ attributes. Sustainable cities and society, 49, 101634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101634
Hayes, A. T., Jandaghian, Z., Lacasse, M. A., Gaur, A., Lu, H., Laouadi, A., & Wang, L. (2022). Nature-based solutions (nbss) to mitigate urban heat island (UHI) effects in Canadian cities. Buildings, 12(7), 925. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12070925
Heinl, M., Hammerle, A., Tappeiner, U., & Leitinger, G. (2015). Determinants of urban–rural land surface temperature differences–A landscape scale perspective. Landscape and Urban Planning, 134, 33-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.10.007
Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(46), 16569–16572. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0507655102
Iglič, H., Doreian, P., Kronegger, L., & Ferligoj, A. (2017). With whom do researchers collaborate and why?. Scientometrics, 112(1), 153-174.
Jennings, V., Larson, L., & Yun, J. (2016). Advancing sustainability through urban green space: Cultural ecosystem services, equity, and social determinants of health. International Journal of environmental research and public health, 13(2), 196. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020196
Jensen, R. R., Gatrell, J. D., & McLean, D. (Eds.). (2005). Geo-spatial technologies in urban environments: policy, practice, and pixels. Springer Science & Business Media.
Kalwar, S., Samoo, S. K., Memon, I. A., & Sahito, N. (2022). A comparative analysis of urbanization trends of Hyderabad and Sukkur. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 21(2), 1-9.
Khan, M. A., Yang, M., Khan, M., Khan, T. M. A., Khan, F. A., Sulman, N., & Fang, H. (2024). Assessment of spatiotemporal land use land cover changes and its impacts on land surface temperature in the Shigar district of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. Environmental Earth Sciences, 83(15), 451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-024-11740-w
Kim, S. W., & Brown, R. D. (2021). Urban heat island (UHI) intensity and magnitude estimations: A systematic literature review. Science of The Total Environment, 779, 146389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146389
Kondo, M. C., Fluehr, J. M., McKeon, T., & Branas, C. C. (2018). Urban green space and its impact on human health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(3), 445. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030445
Kousar, S., Rehman, A., Zafar, M., Ali, K., & Nasir, N. (2018). China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: A gateway to sustainable economic development. International Journal of Social Economics, 45(6), 909–924. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-02-2017-0059
Lakhan, M. A., Afzal, A., Ahmed, S. R., Lahori, A. H., Irfan, M., Zubair, S., & Mishchenko, I. (2023). Assessment of Karachi as an urban heat island threat through remote sensing and GIS techniques. Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: B. Life and Environmental Sciences, 60(3), 463-475 https://doi.org/10.53560/PPASB(60-3)848
Li, H., An, H., Wang, Y., Huang, J., & Gao, X. (2016). Evolutionary features of academic articles co-keyword network and keywords co-occurrence network: Based on two-mode affiliation network. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 450, 657-669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2016.01.017
Liao, H., Tang, M., Luo, L., Li, C., Chiclana, F., & Zeng, X. J. (2018). A bibliometric analysis and visualization of medical big data research. Sustainability, 10(1), 166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2016.01.017
Liu, F., Lin, B., & Meng, K. (2023). Green space settlement landscape optimization strategy under the concept of ecological environment restoration. Journal of King Saud University-Science, 35(3), 102539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2016.01.017
Liu, W., Wang, J., Li, C., Chen, B., & Sun, Y. (2019). Using bibliometric analysis to understand the recent progress in agroecosystem services research. Ecological Economics, 156, 293-305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physa.2016.01.017
Mallick, J., Kant, Y., & Bharath, B. D. (2008). Estimation of land surface temperature over Delhi using Landsat-7 ETM+. Journal of the Indian Geophysical Union, 12(3), 131–140.
Masoudi, M., & Tan, P. Y. (2019a). Multi-year comparison of the effects of spatial pattern of urban green spaces on urban land surface temperature. Landscape and Urban Planning, 184, 44-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.10.023
Masoudi, M., Tan, P. Y., & Liew, S. C. (2019b). Multi-city comparison of the relationships between spatial pattern and cooling effect of urban green spaces in four major Asian cities. Ecological Indicators, 98, 200-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.09.058
Mehmood, M. S., Zafar, Z., Sajjad, M., Hussain, S., Zhai, S., & Qin, Y. (2022). Time series analyses and forecasting of surface urban Heat Island intensity using ARIMA model in Punjab, Pakistan. Land, 12(1), 142. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010142
Melaas, E. K., Wang, J. A., Miller, D. L., & Friedl, M. A. (2016). Interactions between urban vegetation and surface urban heat islands: a case study in the Boston metropolitan ` https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/5/054020
Mirzaei, P. A. (2015). Recent challenges in modeling of urban heat island. Sustainable Cities and Society, 19, 200–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2015.04.001
Mohsin, M. (2015). Rapid urban growth and change in urban and municipal limits of Bahawalpur City, Pakistan: a spatio-periodical discourse. Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 11, 528-538. https://doi.org/10.6000/1927-5129.2015.11.70
Mostovoy, G. V., King, R. L., Reddy, K. R., Kakani, V. G., & Filippova, M. G. (2006). Statistical estimation of daily maximum and minimum air temperatures from MODIS LST data over the state of Mississippi. GIScience & Remote Sensing, 43(1), 78-110. https://doi.org/10.2747/1548-1603.43.1.78
Nasar-u-Minallah, M., Haase, D., & Qureshi, S. (2024). Evaluating the impact of landscape configuration, patterns and composition on land surface temperature: An urban heat island study in the Megacity Lahore, Pakistan. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 196(7), 627. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12758-0
Ngie, A., Abutaleb, K., Ahmed, F., Darwish, A., & Ahmed, M. (2014). Assessment of urban heat island using satellite remotely sensed imagery: a review. South African Geographical Journal= Suid-Afrikaanse Geografiese Tydskrif, 96(2), 198-214. https://doi.org/10.1080/03736245.2014.882039
Oke, T. R. (1982). The energetic basis of the urban heat island. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 108(455), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49710845502
Osareh, F. (1996). Bibliometrics, citation analysis and co-citation analysis: A review of literature I. Libri, 46(3), 149-158. https://doi.org/10.1515/libr.1996.46.3.149
Persson, O., Danell, R., & Schneider, J. W. (2009). How to use Bibexcel for various types of bibliometric analysis. Celebrating scholarly communication studies: A Festschrift for Olle Persson at his 60th Birthday, 5, 9-24.
Picone, F., Buonocore, E., Chemello, R., Russo, G. F., & Franzese, P. P. (2021). Exploring the development of scientific research on Marine Protected Areas: From conservation to global ocean sustainability. Ecological Informatics, 61, 101200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2021.101200
Pinto, M., Pulgarín, A., & Escalona, M. I. (2014). Viewing information literacy concepts: A comparison of two branches of knowledge. Scientometrics, 98(3), 2311–2329. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-013-1166-6
Powell, T. H., Kouropalatis, Y., Morgan, R. E., & Karhu, P. (2016). Mapping knowledge and innovation research themes: Using bibliometrics for classification, evolution, proliferation and determinism. International journal of entrepreneurship and innovation management, 20(3-4), 174-199.
Qasim, M., Khlaid, S., & Shams, D. F. (2014). Spatiotemporal variations and trends in minimum and maximum temperatures of Pakistan. J Appl Environ Biol Sci, 4(8S), 85-93.
Qian, Y., Zhou, W., Yu, W., & Pickett, S. T. A. (2015). Quantifying spatiotemporal pattern of urban greenspace: New insights from high resolution data. Landscape Ecology, 30(7), 1165–1173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-015-0195-3
Ramaiah, M., & Avtar, R. (2019). Urban green spaces and their need in cities of rapidly urbanizing India: A review. Urban Science, 3(3), 94. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci3030094
Rasul, A., Balzter, H., Smith, C., Remedios, J., Adamu, B., Sobrino, J. A., & Weng, Q. (2017). A review on remote sensing of urban heat and cool islands. Land, 6(2), 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/land6020038
Reyes-Gonzalez, L., Gonzalez-Brambila, C. N., & Veloso, F. (2016). Using co-authorship and citation analysis to identify research groups: a new way to assess performance. Scientometrics, 108(3), 1171-1191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-2064-7
Sajjad, S. H., & Blond, N. (2020). Evolution of urbanization and its impact on temperature trends of Quetta city in Pakistan. European Journal of Climate Change, 2(1), 03-13.
Saleem, M. S., Ahmad, S. R., & Javed, M. A. (2020). Impact assessment of urban development patterns on land surface temperature by using remote sensing techniques: a case study of Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan district. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(32), 39865-39878. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10050-5
Satti, Z., Naveed, M., Shafeeque, M., Ali, S., Abdullaev, F., Ashraf, T. M., Irshad, M., & Li, L. (2023). Effects of climate change on vegetation and snow cover area in Gilgit Baltistan using MODIS data. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(7), 19149–19166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23445-3
Shah, B., & Ghauri, B. (2015). Mapping urban heat island effect in comparison with the land use, land cover of Lahore district. Pakistan Journal of Meteorology, 11(22), 19–32.
Small, H. (1973). Co‐citation in the scientific literature: A new measure of the relationship between two documents. Journal of the American Society for information Science, 24(4), 265-269. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.4630240406
Soomro, A. R., Memon, R. A., Memon, M. A., Bhatti, H. A., & Soomro, M. A. (2023). The impact of urban heat island on cooling needs in urban and suburban areas of Hyderabad Sindh Pakistan. Quaid-e-Awam University Research Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 21(1), 27-38.
Streutker, D. R. (2002). A remote sensing study of the urban heat island of Houston, Texas. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 23(13), 2595-2608. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431160210157993
Tabari, H., & Talaee, P. H. (2011). Analysis of trends in temperature data in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. Global and Planetary Change, 79(1-2), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2011.01.004
Terfa, B. K., Chen, N., Zhang, X., & Niyogi, D. (2020). Spatial configuration and extent explains the urban heat mitigation potential due to green spaces: Analysis over Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Remote Sensing, 12(18), 2876. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12182876
Tian, L., Li, Y., Lu, J., & Wang, J. (2021). Review on urban heat island in China: Methods, its impact on buildings energy demand and mitigation strategies. Sustainability, 13(2), 762. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020762
Ugle, P., Rao, S., & Ramachandra, T. V. (2010). Carbon sequestration potential of urban trees. In Proceedings of the Lake 2010: Wetlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change (pp. 1–12). Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. DOI not assigned.
Ullah, Z., Mehmood, M. S., Zhai, S., & Qin, Y. (2025). Analysis of LULC and urban thermal variations in industrial cities using earth observation indices and machine learning: A case study of Gujranwala, Pakistan. Remote Sensing, 17(14), 2474. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17142474
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2018). World urbanization prospects: The 2018 revision. United Nations. DOI not assigned.
Van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523-538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
Weinberg, B. H. (1974). Bibliographic coupling: A review. Information Storage and Retrieval, 10(5-6), 189-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/0020-0271(74)90058-8
Weng, Q. (2009). Thermal infrared remote sensing for urban climate and environmental studies: Methods, applications, and trends. ISPRS Journal of photogrammetry and remote sensing, 64(4), 335-344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2009.07.003
Weng, Q., & Lu, D. (2008). A sub-pixel analysis of urbanization effect on land surface temperature and its interplay with impervious surface and vegetation coverage in Indianapolis, United States. International journal of applied earth observation and geoinformation, 10(1), 68-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2007.05.002
Weng, Q., Lu, D., & Schubring, J. (2004). Estimation of land surface temperature–vegetation abundance relationship for urban heat island studies. Remote sensing of Environment, 89(4), 467-483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2003.10.004
Xiang, Y., Tang, Y., Wang, Z., Peng, C., Huang, C., Dian, Y., & Zhou, Z. (2023). Seasonal variations of the relationship between spectral indexes and land surface temperature based on local climate zones: A study in three Yangtze River megacities. Remote Sensing, 15(4), 870. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15040870
Yang, L., Qian, F., Song, D. X., & Zheng, K. J. (2016). Research on urban heat-island effect. Procedia Engineering, 169, 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.10.002
Yao, L., Li, T., Xu, M., & Xu, Y. (2020). How the landscape features of urban green space impact seasonal land surface temperatures at a city-block-scale: An urban heat island study in Beijing, China. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 52, 126704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126704
