Assessment of urban heat island intensity in Tashkent city using Landsat 8/9

Abstract

The urban heat island (UHI) is a critical environmental issue associated with rapid urbanisation and land cover transformation in metropolitan areas. This study presents a spatiotemporal analysis of UHI intensity in Tashkent city, Uzbekistan, using satellite-derived land surface temperature (LST) data from Landsat 8/9 Collection 2 and cloud-based geospatial processing in Google Earth Engine. A summer composite dataset (June–August 2025) was generated to examine thermal contrasts between urban and vegetated rural surfaces. Urban and rural zones were delineated using spectral indices, including the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the normalised difference built-up index (NDBI). The results indicate a pronounced thermal contrast between urban and vegetated areas. The mean rural LST was estimated at 40.23 °C and the mean urban LST at 47.71 °C, giving an urban–rural contrast of 7.48 °C; averaged over the whole study area relative to the rural reference, the UHI intensity was 5.84 °C. Spatial distribution maps reveal that densely built-up zones exhibit significantly higher surface temperatures than green spaces. The findings highlight the strong relationship between land cover and urban thermal patterns, and support mitigation strategies such as expanding urban green infrastructure.