Estimation of spatio-temporal variability in land surface temperature over the Ganga River Basin using MODIS data
Suraj Mal, Seema Rani, P. Maharana
Abstract
The present study aims to estimate the trends in daytime land surface temperature (LST) and its relationship with other parameters such as elevation and land use/land cover (LULC) over the Ganga River Basin (GRB) during 2001–2019. The study examined monthly daytime clear-sky LST, elevation, LULC, snow cover area (SCA), clear-sky days, and aerosols data of the GRB. Annual mean clear-sky daytime LST has been declining at the rate −0.017 °C year−1 over the basin during the study period. At seasonal scale, LST has been rising during monsoon (average rate of 0.026 °C year−1), whereas other seasons show a decline with the highest magnitude during winter season (−0.078, oC year−1). The study observed pronounced warming trends (0.003 to 0.07 °C year−1) in post-monsoon above the elevation of 3000 m amsl indicating elevation-dependent warming (EDW) in the basin. The vagary in LST over the basin may be attributed to the changes in LULC, increasing aerosols loading, and rising hazy days.