Evaluating UHI hotspots and mitigation potentials through land use and thermal imaging in Lucknow

Abstract

The phenomenon of Urban Heat Island (UHI) poses significant challenges for rapidly urbanizing cities like Lucknow, where increasing built-up areas, decreasing green cover, and anthropogenic heat emissions intensify localized warming. This study investigates the UHI effect in Lucknow, focusing on identifying high-temperature zones, understanding key contributing factors, and formulating sustainable mitigation strategies. A combination of satellite imagery, land use analysis, and meteorological data was utilized to analyze spatial temperature variations across selected residential, semi-urban, and commercial zones. Surface and atmospheric temperature readings were cross-referenced with relative humidity, wind speed, and land use characteristics to detect areas of thermal stress. Infra-red thermal imaging further validated the presence of surface UHI in different urban geometries. Findings revealed a temperature differential of up to 4-5°C between areas with low and high green cover, with shaded zones and water proximity exhibiting significantly cooler microclimates. Critical determinants included high height-to-width (H/W) street ratios, asphalt surfaces, sparse vegetation, and building materials with low albedo. Based on these results, the study proposes urban cooling interventions such as reflective roofing, green infrastructure, water body integration, and strategic urban planning to improve thermal comfort and energy efficiency. This research supports climate-resilient development by offering policy recommendations tailored to Lucknow’s urban context.