While the whole world is grappling with climate change and other environmental problems, there is good news for Ranchi, a research paper by well-known geographer Dr. Aakriti Grover on Ranchi City, ‘Ranchi Metropolitan Area, Challenges and Opportunities of Rapid Urbanization in Ranchi Metropolitan Area: A Geospatial Study’ has received an invitation from the International Geographic Union to present her research paper at the UGI-IGU 2022, Paris Congress.
As the International Geographic Union celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2022, this year's convention is even more important, inviting geographers from all over the world to attend. From all continents, geographers will participate in the Paris 2022 UGI Centenary Congress (18 July to 22 July 2022). Dr. Aakriti said that it is a very important achievement that our country's problems related to urbanization, geographical and environmental and our achievements in the field will be part of discussions on an international forum, Big cities always grabs attention on these issues, but I am glad that I have worked on an emerging metropolitan city that has been selected in the UGI-IGU 2022, Paris conference.
Dr Grover works in the field of urban heat islands, heat waves and air pollution, as well as the changing environment and its impact on urban health. Along with research work, Dr. Aakriti Grover is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Central University of Tamil Nadu.
Regarding her research on Ranchi, Dr Grover said that due to the rapid growth of urbanization, there has been large scale urban expansion, which has resulted in large scale cleaning of green spaces, directly affecting the environment. One of the important environmental impacts of urbanization is the rapid warming of surfaces in urban areas compared to rural areas. As the surface temperature of an urban area rises, it creates a micro-climatic zone around the city known as an urban heat island (UHI), with at least a 5 percent lower than the periphery in the city center. Temperatures above 10 °C have been experienced. Using a geospatial approach, this research analyzes the spatio-temporal changes in land surface temperature and associated, urban heating, island effects for the Ranchi Metropolitan Area (RMA) between 1995 and 2020.
According to the findings, urban build-up is dominated by the density. A significantly higher temperature than the green cover, with low to moderate temperatures. In the last two decades, Ranchi has developed into a city with a population of over one million under the Smart Cities Mission of the government. Given its rapid industrialization, the city is battling with poor air quality due to increased vehicles, construction activities and dust pollution. The study shows that UHI is not very serious at present as wastelands are being extensively converted into urban areas, not vegetation for urban land use. Proper planning, including the use of cool roofs, vertical gardens and urban agriculture, can help reduce the negative effects of future urbanization and UHI.