Urban Heat Island Induced Water Scarcity and Its Impact - A Case Study of Buchaa Bandh, Purulia

Buchaa bandh and its 4 km buffer zone in Purulia has been selected as study area to show the impact of urban heat island included water scarcity and its impact. The study aims 1) To assess the changes in LULC between 2020 and 2025, and examine their relationship with UHI. 2) To identify and delineate heat exposed areas based on spatial distribution of UHI intensity. 3) To identify areas affected by water scarcity and examine its impact on livelihood. LULC analysis revealed an increase in water coverage from 0.817 km² in 2020 to 0.8822 km² in 2025, while tree cover increased from 1.1649 km² to 1.9354 km² during the same period. In contrast, cropland decreased from 20.0552 km² to 22.004 km², whereas built-up areas increased from 20.552 km² in 2020 to 22.004 km² in 2025. In January, the UHI values ranged from −2.73 to 4.12 in 2020 and from −0.15 to 0.21 in 2025. In May, the UHI values varied from −3.64 to 4.28 in 2020 and from −3.55 to 2.84 in 2025.Our results reveals that the temperature of UHI has decreased from 2020 to 2025 through maps made from ArcGIS 10.7.1. This is because waterbodies and vegetation cover has increased under different government policies and programs. . However, these resources continue to face degradation due to anthropogenic activities like water pollution and disposal of wastes at random places.