Characterizing Urban Growth and Land Surface Temperature Changes over Two Ecological Zones in Nigeria

The study analyzed urban growth (UG) and land surface temperature (LST) of Asaba and Abuja in Nigeria from 1986 to 2022. Landsat 5 TM imagery of 1986, Landsat 7 ETM of 2000, and Landsat OLI/TIRS of 2022, of 30m resolutions, were obtained for the determination of both LST and UG analyses. The UG analysis was subjected to the supervised classification of the maximum likelihood module to generate the different land use/ land cover of the study area. Descriptive statistics involving the frequency and percentage were used for the data analysis. Findings from the study revealed that the mean LST, which was 33.38 °C in 1986, decreased to 28.25 in 2002 and subsequently 28.98oC in 2022, while the built-up Area representing urban development increased from 14% in 1986 to 65% in 2022. The UG was significantly increasing at the rate of 242% while LST increased at 7 °C within the period under consideration. The study concludes that the increase in the built-up area is responsible for the increase in the land surface temperature in Asaba and Abuja Metropolis. The authors recommend that LST parameters be taken into consideration for sustainable urban planning to be achieved in the city. Policymakers at all levels need to scale up measures to mitigate the adverse impact of urban heat islands by suggesting a clustered greening of the entire urban landscape. The study has also provided pathways in addressing the complexity of land surface temperature and the future urban development of the city of Asaba and Abuja