Estimation of LST, NDBI and NDWI in the Jammu Kathua Samba regions of the Northwestern Himalayas, India

The 21st century is very much affected by climate change due to the increase of urban sprawl and the population explosion, causing anthropogenic activities and industrialisation, which are contributing to global warming and affecting climate change. Thus, it is necessary to monitor the various aspects for the betterment of the society and manage and plan the various land resources. The present study related to derivation of Land Surface Temperature (LST) in the Jammu, Kathua and Samba (JKS) region of Jammu and Kashmir by using the various algorithms to find out the LST anomalies. LST was retrieved using a radiative transfer–based algorithm incorporating brightness temperature and land surface emissivity derived from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), while Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) LST products were used for cross-validation. The results indicate that LST in the region ranges from ~ 5 °C to ~ 40 °C, with higher temperatures concentrated over built-up areas, barren lands, and silica-rich riverbeds, and lower temperatures associated with dense vegetation, water bodies, and higher elevations. NDVI values (− 0.16 to 0.59) show a clear inverse relationship with LST, whereas Normalized Different Built-up Index (NDBI) exhibits a positive association, highlighting the role of urbanization in surface warming. The Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) further demonstrates the cooling influence of surface moisture and water bodies. Terrain parameters such as elevation, slope, and aspect significantly modulate thermal patterns, with south- and southwest-facing slopes and low-lying plains exhibiting higher LST. A moderate correlation (r2 ≈ 0.61) between Landsat-8 and MODIS LST confirms the robustness of the thermal estimates. Overall, the study demonstrates that LST variability in the JKS region is governed by an interplay of land cover, terrain, and anthropogenic activities, providing critical spatial insights for urban planning, environmental management, and climate-resilient development in the NW Himalaya.