Quantifying the Effect of LULC on Surface Temperature over the Indian Region

Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes have been shown to have a significant effect on local energy balance, weather and hence climate. India has undergone significant LULC modulations in recent times due to its rapid development. Using observations over three decades since the 1980s, we show that LULC has led to increased temperature of up to 30% in addition to those linked to large scale effects such as global warming. These effects are further amplified over the urbanized environment due to the additional effect of urbanization. Our study shows that these signatures are mostly a consequence of changing vegetation and forest cover over the region especially during the summer season. Over certain regions, the agricultural diversification and changing cropping pattern with activities shifting from pre to post-monsoon season has led to these changes. Overall, our study shows that LULC has led to a detectable change in surface temperature over the Indian region with amplification of up to 50% over the urban areas. These changes are expected to have a large impact on weather and hence regional climate of south Asia.