Urban Heat Island Dynamics and Planning of a Green Infrastructure Based on Remote Sensing and GIS: Pune City, India

Abstract Cities that are growing swiftly and adding more buildings tend to lose their natural appearance. This can lead to such problems as the Urban Heat Island (UHI), whereby areas within cities become hotter than adjacent countryside. UHI occurs because of the large amount of hard surfaces, fewer trees, higher energy consumption and human-generated heat. This research examines the area where UHI is most severe in the city of Pune, India, and how the heat could be cooled through the use of green roofs, parks, and other green spaces. We used satellite pictures in conjunction with geographic information system (GIS) tools to provide a map of the land surface temperature (LST) and plant cover. Landsat images provided us with temperature and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), or a measurement of the green plants. We combined those maps to determine the relationship between city layout, plant cover and temperature. Some of the hottest parts of the city were highlighted along with areas that have no green cover. The paper shows us that to not only reduce UHI, but to also improve air and help city plans be sustainable, green infrastructure can be added to cities. The results aid in the task of planners and decision makers to create climate-friendly and healthy cities.