quantifying the impact of land cover changes on urban thermal comfort using remote sensing data: a case study of tabriz metropolis

Rapid urbanization and the expansion of impervious surfaces have intensified the urban heat island (uhi) effect and reduced thermal comfort. this study leverages landsat 8 imagery from 2015 to 2025 to analyze changes in land cover indices (ndvi, ndbi) and land surface temperature (lst) in tabriz, iran, and investigates their correlation with the modified temperature-humidity index (mthi). image processing involved radiometric correction, calculation of ndvi/ndbi, surface radiance retrieval, and emissivity-corrected lst derivation. results indicate that the mean lst in the urban core increased from 31.2°c (2015) to 33.7°c (2025), ndvi in developed areas decreased by up to 0.25, and the urban area experiencing high thermal discomfort (based on mthi) expanded from 26% to 42%. a strong negative pearson correlation (r = -0.65) was found between ndvi and lst, with a thermal sensitivity of approximately -0.75°c for a 10% reduction in vegetation cover. these findings underscore that enhancing and preserving urban green cover can effectively improve thermal comfort, providing a basis for green city policies and climate adaptation strategies in tabriz.