SPATIO-TEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF LAND COVER CHANGES OF DHAKA CITY IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify the Spatio-temporal variation in landcover of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh. The study was conducted to highlight the issues of changing land-cover of mega cities of Bangladesh and its future environmental consequences. Land cover changes and temporal maps for the selected study areas were developed by using multi-temporal information data sets by Multispectral Scanner (MSS), Thematic Map (TM), Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM), Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+),or Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) for the years 1993, 2000, 2010 and 2015. The results of this study highlighted the rapid urbanization in Dhaka which caused significant decline in vegetation cover and increase of built-up or paved surfaces. The land-cover classified images highlighted, that in 1993 only 22% per cent area of the study area was covered with built-up surface. However, in 2015, it increased up to 48%. This substantial decline in vegetation cover and upsurge in built-up area of Dhaka city may put petrifying effect on local environments.