Detection of Changes in Land Cover and Land Surface Temperature Using Multi Temporal Landsat Data

Land cover changes and land surface temperature have rose in the tropical regions of Myanmar especially in the surrounding areas of Magway city due to the rapid growth of urban sprawl. This study investigated the patterns of land cover and the trend of land surface temperature in Magway city area between 1989 and 2017. For this purpose, Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI were used and land surface temperatures (LST) were calculated through thermal data with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). After obtaining the land cover map by using maximum likelihood algorithm for each study period, the accuracy of this map was tested using 100 ground checkpoints in an error matrix. A statistical analysis of the results showed the increase of the built-up area by 11.7% and the decline of the vegetation area by 19.7% from 1989 to 2017. Moreover, land surface temperature has risen by 4 °C during this 28 years period. Therefore, this study is intended to help the Magway city development council plan effective land cover management in the future.