Land Use Land Cover Change and Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity: A Source-Sink Landscape Based Study in Kerala, India

Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) are closely linked to global warming and localized climate alterations, as urbanization significantly modifies surface and atmospheric conditions, resulting in a phenomenon known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. This study evaluates the intensity of the daytime Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) effect at a local scale using the landscape index (LI) proposed by Xu, which examines source and sink landscapes and their roles in SUHI intensity. The study evaluates SUHI intensity across different LULC types in districts of Kerala, India, using Land Surface Temperature (LST) data derived from Landsat 8 by single Channel algorithm technique and LULC classifications acquired from Esri Sentinel-2 for the period 2017–2023. Results reveal significant LST variations in 2019 and 2023, The districts Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, and Thiruvananthapuram districts were more prone to SUHI Intensity.