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Rapid urbanisation in India has led to increased land use and energy demand, and the consequent uncontrolled development and increased human-induced activities are changing the micrometeorology and the local environment. Of late, the surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect is quite evident in India. It is known that river banks are where the most densely populated cities can be found around the globe, and the River Ganga (Ganges) in India is no exception. Town/cities located over the Gangetic Plain are witnessing a fast urbanisation, and associated perturbation is taking place in the micro/meso-scale meteorology/environment. Discussion about the influence of the river on the SUHI and dynamics over different cities along a single major river is needed, and therefore this study is undertaken to investigate the SUHI effect on riverside towns/cities over the Gangetic Plain, India. For this purpose, the observation data for the period of 2001–2014 from the Terra-MODIS satellite are used. The study quantifies the land surface temperature (LST) under different zones namely urban, suburban, and rural, delineated on the basis of International Geosphere Biosphere Programme-Land Cover (IGBP-LC) products. The intensity and trend of SUHI are measured as an indicator of environmental and micro-climate change. The study found a prevailing regime of nighttime SUHI intensity (SUHII) as well as the daytime formation of SUHI. The interaction of the wind blowing from the river and other land cover to towns/cities was examined with respect to the SUHII of Kanpur and Patna and was found to be quite important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]