Spatial Assessment of Temperature and Land Cover Change as Climate Change Monitoring Strategies in Owerri, Nigeria

Abstract

Climate change is one of the alarming global environmental changes likely to have deleterious effects on natural, social, cultural and human systems. The risks associated with it call for a broad spectrum of policy responses and strategies at local, regional, national and global levels. This study seeks to explore the nexus between geospatial techniques in assessing climate change and sustainable development, discussing evidenced effects of climate change with considerations into sustainable development efforts in Owerri, Nigeria. This study uses Landsat 5, Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 satellite data of 1986, 2000 and 2016 respectively to evaluate land cover and temperature variation as climatic change in the study area over three decades. The results from the adopted geospatial analysis revealed that climate change resulted from development activities in urban cities, and is evidently affecting every sector of human activities and limiting life expectancy, thus working against sustainable development. This confirms that changes in impervious surfaces significantly produce corresponding effect in increasing urban heat in the city. This study recommended that adequate land use planning be enforced by adopting green city planning techniques.