The Effects of Urbanization and Vegetation Cover on Urban Heat Island: A Case Study in Osmaniye Province

This study analyzed the changes in the urban heat island effect in the 30 years (from 1990 to 2021) in the central district of Osmaniye. In this sense, there were two primary goals. Firstly, Land use/land cover change (LULC), land surface temperature (LST), normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were analyzed by using remote sensing methods between 1990 and 2021. Secondly, a linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors associated with LST, NDVI, and NDBI. The study results revealed increases in urban surfaces and the average land surface temperature values in the past 30 years and showed a decline in the vegetation with low, medium, and high NDVI values. The regression analysis results indicated a strong negative relationship between LST and NDVI and a strong positive relationship between LST and NDBI. It was also found a robust negative relationship between NDBI and NDVI. In light of the findings, it was stated that the amount of open and green areas should be increased in order to prevent the negative effects of the urban heat island in the central district of Osmaniye. For this purpose, it has been proposed to encourage green roof systems throughout the city, to create city parks and to create a green belt system. In addition, as a result of the study, the importance of preventing forest destruction caused by over-settlement in the Amanos Mountains, which is one of the rare habitats of the world with different plant species, was emphasized. In this sense, legal sanctions should be employed to protect those areas and prevent construction.