A Remotely Based Evaluation of Urban Expansion and its Impact in Land Surface Temperature: A Case Study of Ogbomoso

Abstract

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a fundamental environmental parameter affected by land cover change. Over the years, Ogbomoso had experienced a rapid urban expansion has led to the increase of its surface temperature. This paper, therefore, investigates the urban expansion and its impact on land surface temperature (LST) of Ogbomoso in Oyo state of Nigeria, using Land Satellite (Landsat) images from 1991 to 2019. This is with the view of assessing the extent of the land use and land cover (LC) in Ogbomoso and estimating its land surface temperature. The images were subjected to digital Image Processing (DIP) and analysed using ERDAS Imagine 2014 and ArcGIS 10.6 software. Using these spatiotemporal images with their thermal bands, land cover and LST changes, the spatial patterns of LST and LC were derived to examine the response of LST to urban growth. The findings of this study indicate that previously known rural areas such as Agegunle, Imoji, Alapa and part of Ogbomoso South in 1991 have become urbanized by year 2019, hence, an increase in the LST of these areas over time. Built-up areas such Ajegunle, Lautech and Jagun reported high increase in its surface temperature from about 27°C to about 33°c. This result further showed that new growth areas in Ogbomoso had altered the surface thermal environment. This study therefore, provides reasonable evidence of heating up of our environment.