Prashanta Kumar Gogoi and Nilotpal Kalita
Abstract
The dynamics of Land Surface Temperature (LST) arising from physical landscape transformation, primarily through changes in Land Use Land Cover (LULC) and its associated relationship with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), are considered a vital theme in environmental monitoring and climate studies. The present study aims to investigate the spatio-temporal variations in LST across selected villages f Nagaon District (AOI), Assam, India, and to examine its temporal correlation with NDVI values. Landsat satellite imageries downloaded from USGS for three representative seasons: pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon; were analyzed across an eight-year interval. The findings revealed a consistent rise in surface temperature over the study period. The average minimum LST values varied from 21.21/°C to 29.81/°C, and the average maximum LST values varied from 31.15/°C to 35.65/°C. Spatial differentiation in vegetation cover, represented by NDVI values ranging between +1 and -1, exhibited an inverse relationship with LST. A bivariate relationship was verified with LST as response and NDVI as predictor. The correlation coefficient (r) differed across surfaces: it was medium to high across vegetation covers, moderately positive over water surfaces (r = +0.65). Overall, the study reinforces that LST is significantly affected by surface properties, showing the central role of vegetation in establishing micro-climatic conditions.