Abstract:
Much of the urbanization that occurs in
Africa creates the potential for technological devel opment and economic growth but is also a breed ing ground for environmental and health problems.
This study was undertaken to evaluate the urban induced land use/land cover (LULC) change and its
contribution to the land surface temperature (LST)
and urban heat fluxes from 2001 to 2021. More spe cifically, the study analyzed different scenarios of
LULC change and retrieved the LST to evaluate the
trends of the urban heat flux (UHI) in response to the
urban-induced LULC change. The analysis of LULC
change from 2001 to 2021 indicated that built-up and
bare land showed the highest rate of increase at the
expense of declining open spaces, agricultural land,
and vegetation areas. The built-up areas in Nekemte
and Jimma City increased by 929.25 ha (172.75%)
and 2285.64 ha (226.93%) over the investigated
period, respectively. The highest changes in LULC
are seen in built-up areas followed by agricultural
land, while the smallest changes are shown by water
body followed by bare land. Built-up areas showed
the highest net gain, while agricultural land experi enced the greatest loss. In areas where the vegetation
cover is low, low LST was depicted, and high LSTwas shown in areas where built-up areas were con centrated in both cities. Due to the LULC changes,
the average LST increased by 1.9 °C and 2.2 °C in
Nekemte and Jimma City, respectively, over the last
21 years. The urbanization-induced LULC change
does not only cause changes in the hydrological pro cess but also changes in the thermal variations and
urban heat stress of the two urban centers. The result
indicates that the increases in vegetation and green
areas are significant in improving the heat stress and
thermal characteristics of urban areas. Overall, to
achieve sustainable urban development, the integra tion of land use with urban planning policies could
be critical to the resilience of local environment and
urban ecosystem.
