Abstract:
This study is an illustration of a comparative spatial analysis of climate-driven environmental
changes caused by urbanization in two climatically different cities namely Nuwara Eliya (Sri
Lanka) and Kunming (China) between 2013 and 2023. Both cities are examples of rapid urban
development, which is known to be one of the main drivers of natural landscapes, ecosystem
processes, and local climate regimes globally. Remote sensing and Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) techniques were used in the study, and Landsat 5 and 8 satellite images were
compared. The methodology quantified and compared the spatiotemporal changes of four environmental
measures in three specific time periods, 2013, 2017 and 2023. They were the Normalized
Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Normalized DifferenceWater Index (NDWI),
the Normalized Difference Building Index (NDBI) and the Land Surface Temperature (LST).
The findings confirm an overall inverse relationship between natural resources and urbanization
in Nuwara Eliya and Kunming. Nuwara Eliya city showed a significant increase in built-up area,
with NDBI values increasing dramatically and this action coincided with a decline in natural resources.
On the other hand, in Kunming also it showcases a gradual increment in NDBI values
where they kept their NDVI values also in a high range. But the NDVI fell, reflecting the loss of
vegetation cover in Nuwara Eliya. Furthermore, in Nuwara Eliya area NDWI values gradually
decreased, indicating severe water resource degradation over the study period. As a result, LST
values in Nuwara Eliya also increased accordingly. However, Kunming’s urbanization, despite
its location, appears to be in trend with the “green development" concept. In addition, the research
reiterates the need for Nuwara Eliya to embrace sustainable development measures in
the form of appropriate land use planning, environmentally friendly agricultural practices, and
well-planned development initiatives to combat the adverse effects of urban sprawl on forest
cover as well as the overall environmental condition. Finally, to achieve these goals following
of “Green Development” concepts and planning methods that has been used by Kunming area
can be used.
