Kritika

UI4051

Modeling urban heat stress to guide localized heat action plans
This research explores spatial modeling approaches to understand Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects and guide localized heat action plans in Ahmedabad, India. The study identifies a critical gap in current heat mitigation strategies: most heat action plans are implemented at a city-wide scale without accounting for neighborhood-level variation in heat stress. Through comprehensive spatial analysis using satellite imagery, the research develops a multi-index approach that integrates land surface temperature, vegetation indices, built environment metrics, and urban morphology indicators to identify heat vulnerability patterns across different wards of Ahmedabad. The findings reveal significant spatial disparities in heat stress, with eastern wards experiencing substantially higher vulnerability compared to other areas of the city. Despite relatively stable overall vegetation coverage between 2018-2024, land surface temperatures continued to rise, suggesting other dominant factors like urban morphology and impervious surfaces play crucial roles in heat accumulation. The research culminates in a ward-level prioritization framework that categorizes areas based on their specific vulnerability profiles and recommends targeted interventions for each category. This approach enables more effective resource allocation for heat mitigation and demonstrates the value of granular spatial analysis in developing context-specific urban climate resilience strategies.