Geoinformatics based evaluation of heat mitigation strategies through urban green spaces in a rapidly growing city of India: implications for urban resilience

Abstract

The pattern and rate of urbanization in a city prevalently offer a comprehensive insight into the interactions between Earth’s terrestrial surface and anthropogenic activities. The study presented here comprehensively investigated the cooling effects of urban green spaces (UGSs) to address a critical research gap in Meerut, a city in India. A Spatial analysis approach was used to examine the relationship among the UGSs, heat mitigation, and temperature variables using the InVEST Urban Cooling Model (UCM) tool. This study explored the relationships between the Heat Mitigation Index (HMI) and three key variables—Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Land Surface Temperature (LST), and Air Temperature (AT)—using Landsat 9 data from April 2023. Most of the city is covered under fallow land with LST ranging from 27.18℃ to 45.39℃, and the Urban Thermal Field Variance Index (UTFVI) classifies it as excellent (47.06%). The InVEST model was utilized to determine the cooling capacity potential, which varies from 0.04 to 0.92. The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature Index (WBGT) ranging between 32.41 ∘C to 37.10 ∘C indicated significant heat risk related discomfort. It emphasises the importance of green infrastructure in city development plans to reduce heat and improve comfort. A comprehensive understanding of urban cooling services can contribute to informed decision-making for climate action and sustainable urban development. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2025.