Spatiotemporal analysis of urban expansion in Srinagar city, Kashmir

Urbanization is a multifaceted process and a global phenomenon that encompasses various environmental and land cover changes. The expansion of Srinagar city, Kashmir, has changed its Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) due to an increase in population, horizontal expansion of the city, migration, and an increase in the built-up area. This has resulted in a change in Land Surface Temperature (LST). This study evaluates the dynamics of LULC in Srinagar city and its effect on LST using remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), statistical analysis techniques, and Landsat 4–5 TM and Landsat-8 OLI datasets. We analysed the LULC in Srinagar city from 2000 to 2020. The study calculated the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), LST, Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC), and Emissivity from satellite remote sensing data of Srinagar city and analysed the relationship between them. The study shows that in terms of percentage change in LULC in Srinagar city from the year 2000 to 2020, built-up area showed the maximum change (75.58), followed by dense forest (− 62.74), vegetation (− 40.2), water bodies (− 25.41%), crop (23.16%), swamp (− 8.22), sparse forest (− 7.89), and open spaces (− 6.02). The findings of this study hold significance for researchers, urban planners, and policymakers to understand urbanization trends and their implications in the city.