Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Surface Temperature in Response to Land Use and Land Cover Changes: A Remote Sensing Approach

Rapid urbanization in the global south has often introduced substantial and rapid uncontrolled Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes. Such abrupt and significant land cover changes considerably affect the Land Surface Temperature (LST) patterns. Understanding the relationship between LULC changes and LST is essential for effective urban planning and environmental management in agglomerations, particularly in the face of escalating climate change. This study aims to elucidate the spatiotemporal variations in LST in urban areas compared to LULC changes by applying remote sensing techniques. The study focused on a peripheral urban area of Phnom Penh (Cambodia) undergoing rapid urban development, using Landsat images from 2000 to 2021. The analysis employed an exploratory time series analysis of LST and examined areas with consistently higher LSTs (hotspots) regarding their specific LULC changes. The study revealed noticeable variability in LST (20 to 69 °C), predominantly influenced by seasonal variability and LULC changes. The hotspots provided insights into how LST varies within different LULCs at the exact spatial locations. These changes in LST did not manifest uniformly but displayed site-specific responses to LULC changes, warranting the attention of urban planners and policymakers. This study contributes to understanding the spatial relationship between LST and LULC changes, demonstrating the potential for developing new empirically rooted urban climate models that account for this complex physical interplay of changing land surfaces over time. While the study focused on a specific urban area, the methodology provides a replicable model for other similarly structured regions, potentially inspiring future research in various urban planning and monitoring contexts.