LAND USE MAPPING AND GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS OF THE BAHAWALNAGAR LANDSCAPE TRANSITION: UNRAVELING CLIMATE CHANGE FORCES

Abstract

The study was conducted to monitor the transformation of Bahawalnagar Landscape due to Climate Change through GIS & RS techniques. Data was collected from the past 30 years from 1990 to 2020 with a 10-year interval. Similarly, climate data, which includes temperature and rainfall also collected for respective years. With the help of supervised classification, NDVI, and NDBI, it is revealed that change occurred in the landscape in the proceeding years. The built-up land increased with the passage of time. Similarly, open land and water resources are reduced with time due to low rainfall, which declines the ratio of water sources from 1990 to 2020. So, in 2020, the construction area showed a further increase and covered 20.04%, agricultural land increased to 1.46% and open land decreased by 18.58% (the decrease in open land portion is directly linked with built-up and a small portion with agricultural land) and water bodies decreased by 2.8% in the thirty-year time period. Comparison graphs and figures further highlight the relation of climate change with the landscape. The relationship has a direct link such as high temperature reducing the agricultural land and change occurring more. In the same way, low rainfall also changes or fluctuates the landscape pattern of Bahawalnagar. In short, recommendations have been given to minimize the impacts of climate on the landscape.