Current World Environment

Time Series Land Surface Temperature Induced Heat Stress Vulnerability in Tropical Cities: A Case Study from India

Aswathy Asok¹ , Sabu Joseph¹ ^* , Asok Laila Achu² , Jobin Thomas³ and Girish Gopinath³

¹ Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala India

² Department of Climate Variability and Aquatic Ecosystems, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Kochi, Kerala India

³ Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS USA

Corresponding author Email: jsabu@keralauniversity.ac.in

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.21.1.26

Abstract

Variations in the urban land surface temperature (LST) and its correlation with the surrounding rural areas lead to Urban Heat Islands, a global concern that affects mostly tropical cities. This study employed a novel methodology coupling a multi-criteria decision-making technique with geospatial data to identify heat stress vulnerability in a tropical urban agglomeration. Initially, the patterns of land use and land cover (LULC) changes are estimated for the years 1988, 2005, and 2023 using Landsat images. Thereafter, the mean and standard deviation of time series Land Surface Temperature, Normalized Difference Built-up Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, time series UHI index and population density is a proxy to Heat Stress Vulnerability Index using Analytical Hierarchy Process. The proposed methodology is tested in Kochi city, a rapidly expanding urban cluster in southern India. Results reveal a notable increase in built-up areas, accompanied by a decline in vegetation and open areas over the 34-year period resulted considerable increase of (4°C) LST from 2014 to 2023, The study uses a novel method of Heat Stress Vulnerability Index (HSVI) to identify the heat stress regions of the study area. The computed HSVI is further classified into very low, low, moderate, high, and very high heat stress vulnerability areas. ~12.78% of the study area is classified as high heat stress vulnerability, followed by 3.45% in very high vulnerability. Higher HSVI values are observed in dense built-up areas with high population density. The methodology used in this study will be helpful to develop appropriate urban planning and management policies through achieving Sustainable Development Goals 11 and 13.

Keywords

Heat Stress Vulnerability Index, India, Kochi city, LULC, LST, UHI

Copy the following to cite this article:

Asok A, Joseph S, Achu A. L, Thomas J, Gopinath G. Time Series Land Surface Temperature Induced Heat Stress Vulnerability in Tropical Cities: A Case Study from India. Curr World Environ 2026;21(1). DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.21.1.26

Copy the following to cite this URL:

Asok A, Joseph S, Achu A. L, Thomas J, Gopinath G. Time Series Land Surface Temperature Induced Heat Stress Vulnerability in Tropical Cities: A Case Study from India. Curr World Environ 2026;21(1).

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