Loss of the vegetative cover becomes the paying way of accelerated carbon emissions. It leads to increase in Land Surface Temperature (LST) and resultant resulting in global warming. This study has deployed remote sensing and GIS to observe LST variations in Islamabad to study vegetative cover loss for the time span of 25 years (1992e2017). The study’s findings confirmed 22% reduction in the vegetative cover from 1992 to 2000 with LST range 13e27
C/year. It was followed by continuous reduction of the said cover up-to 27% between 2000 and 08, confirming 16e34
C/year increase in LST. Likewise, from 2008 to 2017, alarmingly 51% vegetative cover loss contributing to 23e43
C/year rise in LST in the study area. The results confirmed correlation between loss of vegetative cover and LST that is contributing into global warming. So, attempts to halt massive urbanization so as to reduce the polluting gateways and increasing carbon sinks efforts through afforestation and reforestation remains essential to safeguard the humanity from climatic hazards.

Introduction

The 21st century’s dramatic changes in the climatic patterns became the biggest malice and severe threats to growth and development, yet alone human survival. Forests are the diverse environmental subjects, which have the capacity to adapt to the changes in the ecosystem and provide positive sustainable returns to the environment (Aljerf, 2017). But there is great threat to forest cover und the broader domain of vegetative cover on the land surface and the main source is humans. The reported adverse impacts erosion, drought and loss of biodiversity (Xie et al., 2017; Gao et al., 2017). Similarly, human-induced activities remain the main causes behind the loss of forest cover, e.g., removal of forests and/or reduction in the capacity of the forests to serve as carbon sinks (Zhang et al., 2015). The other and the most severe reason behind the loss of forest cover and there-upon massive carbon release is the rapid urbanization (Bhatt, 1990). Here, urbanization is amongst the critical factors affecting forest cover that is posing severe impacts on both regional and global environment (Lin et al., 2019). Thus, urban settlements, amongst other major threats, are posing increasing challenge as land cover change is occurring from forested land, high coverage rate grassland etc. to bare land and massive physical infrastructure development. It therefore decreases the net decrease in the rate of grass and forest land as of growing human activities (Li et al., 2017). Thus, land use change as of conversion of forest land effects the terrestrial ecosystems and thereupon the carbon storage, thus leading to anthropogenic carbon emissions. The transfer of land to build high land infrastructures in urban settings is accounted for the large scale conversion of land and associated increased carbon emissions (Chuai et al., 2015).