Geospatial analysis of land use and land cover change and environmental impacts in Uttarakhand, India: A review

Uttarakhand, Himalaya's a state, is having serious environmental problems that are mainly due to urbanization, infrastructure development, and climate change. The systematic review gathers together geospatial studies in order to assess the extent of LULC changes and their impact on the environment. Following PRISMA 2020 rules, we went through more than 150 records and finally picked 30 peer-reviewed papers from 2021 to 2025 for the in-depth synthesis based on the quality of the methodology and geographic relevance. The review shows a clear movement in the methods of remote sensing from parametric classifiers to machine learning algorithms (Random Forest, SVM) and cloud computing (Google Earth Engine). The quantitative synthesis indicates a stark contrast in development trends: the plains and foothills (Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar) are experiencing rapid urban-industrial development, with built-up areas in some places like Haridwar increasing more than 200%, causing very strong urban heat island effects and even more stressed groundwater. On the other hand, mid-hills and high Himalayas (Pauri, Almora, Chamoli) are suffering from agricultural abandonment, forest fragmentation, landslides due to infrastructure, and the like. The review points out that even though there is high-accuracy geospatial data, there is still a "knowledge-to-action" gap in the governance of the state where scientific knowledge is seldom referred to in master planning or disaster risk reduction frameworks.