Influence of Urban Sprawl on Micro Climate in Pakistan: A case study of Abbottabad

Abstract

Population size of the world is increasing rapidly and shift of population from rural to urban areas is also on the rise resulting in higher level of pollution worsened by lack of urban planning. Factor like dilution of green areas, trees and vegetation is defining a new regime of urban environment giving rise to lack of drinking water and lowering water table. Rise in temperature both of surface and air is re-modeling climate of the cities referred to as microclimate. Like other cities of Pakistan, Abbottabad is also facing alarming urban sprawl being a tourist resort. Consequently, this unplanned urbanization with all its facets is having adverse impacts on environment. Rapid variations in some of its climatic factors in the immediate vicinity are alarming and need addressing. In this research, geospatial approach is adopted to identify urban area increase vs rise in land surface temperature based on urban sprawl of last 25 years, using Landsat (5 TM, 7 ETM+ and 8 TIRS) satellite images. Moreover, air temperature data collected from met department is used to recognize rising trends.