Spatio Temporal Dynamics of Summer Land Surface Temperature, Vegetation Cooling Effect, and Urban Heat Island Characteristics in Jammu Province, Western Himalaya (2000–2025)

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key indicator of environmental change and urban thermal stress, particularly in rapidly transforming mountain landscapes. This study investigates the spatio temporal dynamics of summer LST, vegetation greenness, vegetation cooling effects, and urban heat island (UHI) characteristics across Jammu Province, Western Himalaya, from 2000 to 2025 using MODIS derived LST (MOD11A2) and NDVI (MOD13Q1) products processed in Google Earth Engine (GEE; Wan, 2014; Didan, 20