Urbanization and Environmental Quality Assessment in the Abuja Municipal Area Council Using Lst, Ndvi, Ndbi and Ndwi

Abstract

Urbanisation is one of the main environmental changes in the twenty-first century that significantly changes landscapes and disrupts the ecological balance in various regions of the world. The most significant issue in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC)is associated with the rate at which urbanisation tends to take place more rapidly without sufficient protective measures towards the natural ecosystems.This study assessed Urbanization and Environmental Quality in the AMAC using Land Surface Temperature (LST), Nominalised Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI).Landsat 8 data for 2014, 2019 and 2024 were used to estimate LST, NDVI, NDBI and NDWI of the study area. Correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between the indices. The results indicate a progressive rise in LST across the years, with mean values increasing from 35.15°C in 2014 to 39.11°C in 2024. The NDBI values remained relatively stable but slightly increased in maximum values from 0.403 in 2014 to 0.463 in 2024. The NDVI showed moderate vegetation presence throughout the period, with mean values ranging between 0.22 and 0.24. The NDWI values increased over time, with the mean shifting from -0.23 in 2014 to 0.06 in 2024. The standard deviations for all indices were low, implying minimal variability within each dataset. The correlation analysis reveals that In 2014, LST exhibited a strong positive correlation with the NDBI (r = 0.69) and a strong negative correlation with the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (r = -0.69), indicating that built-up areas contributed to higher temperatures while vegetation had a cooling effect. NDWI also showed a positive relationship with LST (r = 0.56). By 2019, the correlation between LST and NDBI remained positive (r = 0.64) but slightly weaker, while the relationship with NDVI remained negative (r = -0.71). However, the association between LST and NDWI became weakly negative (r = -0.11). In 2024, similar patterns persisted with LST positively related to NDBI (r = 0.63) and negatively related to NDVI (r = -0.59). The moderate positive correlation between NDVI and NDWI (r = 0.47) in 2024 reflects that vegetated areas retained more surface moisture. The study recommended that Abuja Municipal Area Council impose more stringent development restrictions to prevent the spread of impervious materials in the recently urbanised areas and encourage the use of permeable surface designs.