Rapid urbanization is changing the existing patterns of land use land cover (LULC) globally, which is consequently increasing the land surface temperature (LST) in many regions. The present study is focused on estimating current and simulating future LULC and LST trends in the urban environment of Chaoyang District, Beijing. Past patterns of LULC and LST were identified through the maximum likelihood classification (MLC) method and multispectral Landsat satellite images during the 1990–2018 data period. The cellular automata (CA) and stochastic transition matrix of the Markov model were applied to simulate future (2025) LULC and LST changes, respectively, using their past patterns. The CA model was validated for the simulated and estimated LULC for 1990–2018, with an overall Kappa (K) value of 0.83, using validation modules in IDRISI software. Our results indicated that the cumulative changes in built-up to vegetation area were 74.61 km2 (16.08%) and 113.13 km2 (24.38%) from 1990 to 2018. The correlation coefficient of land use and land cover change (LULCC), including vegetation, water bodies and built-up area, had values of r =  − 0.155 (p > 0.005), −0.809 (p = 0.000), and 0.519 (p > 0.005), respectively. The results of future analysis revealed that there will be an estimated 164.92 km2 (−12%) decrease in vegetation area, while an expansion of approximately 283.04 km2 (6% change) will occur in built-up areas from 1990 to 2025. This decrease in vegetation cover and expansion of settlements would likely cause a rise of approximately ∼10.74 °C and ∼12.66 °C in future temperature, which would cause a rise in temperature (2025). The analyses could open an avenue regarding how to manage urban land cover patterns to enhance the resilience of cities to climate warming. This study provides scientific insights for environmental development and sustainability through efficient and effective urban planning and management in Beijing and will also help strengthen other research related to the UHI phenomenon in other parts of the world.

The lower Indus basin is one of the largest hydrocarbon producing sedimentary basins in Pakistan. It is characterized by the presence of many hydrocarbon-bearing fields including clastic and carbonates proven reservoirs from the Cretaceous to the Eocene age. This study has been carried out in the Sanghar oil field to evaluate the hydrocarbon prospects of basal sand zone of lower Goru Formation of Cretaceous by using complete suite of geophysical logs of different wells. The analytical formation evaluation by using petrophysical studies and neutron-density crossplots unveils that litho-facies mainly comprising of sandstone. The hydrocarbons potentialities of the formation zone have been characterized through various isoparameteric maps such as gross reservoir and net pay thickness, net-to-gross ratio, total and effective porosity, shaliness, and water and hydrocarbons saturation. The evaluated petrophysical studies show that the reservoir has net pay zone of thickness range 5 to 10 m, net-to-gross ratio range of 0.17 to 0.75, effective porosity range of 07 to 12 %, shaliness range of 27 to 40 % and hydrocarbon saturation range of 12 to 31 %. However, in the net pay zone hydrocarbon saturation reaches up to 95%. The isoparametric charts of petrophysically derived parameters reveal the aerial distribution of hydrocarbons accumulation in basal sand unit of the lower Goru Formation which may be helpful for further exploration.

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Hydrochemical characteristics and aquifer properties present a better understanding of the mitigation of groundwater pollution, which has become one of the leading environmental concerns and threats to the sustainable ecosystem. Seventy-seven groundwater samples were collected from Sargodha District (Pakistan) and characterized for their physical and chemical properties. The analytical data were processed for the evaluation of the processes that control the groundwater chemistry using various drinking and agricultural indices with statistical and hydrochemical modeling. The predominant hydrochemical type was found to be Ca-HCO3 type, followed by Na-HCO3 and Mg-Ca-Cl types. The present study showed that the main factors controlling the groundwater chemistry were the prevalent rock dominance alongside the weathering of silicates, solubilization of carbonates, and cation exchange processes. Entropy water quality index (EWQI) revealed that 6.51% represented “poor water,” while 7.79% were considered “extremely poor” for drinking purposes. However, USSL classification, Wilcox diagram, and other agricultural indices (RCS, SAR, %Na, MH, PI, and PS) showed that the majority of the samples were classified as suitable for irrigation purpose. However, 16% of the samples for %Na and 24% of the samples for MH were not suitable for agricultural purposes. Overall, the groundwater quality was affected by the anthropogenic stress in the study area.