The escalating rates of deforestation, compounded by land degradation arising from intensified mining operations, forest fires, encroachments, and road infrastructure, among other factors, are severely disrupting the botanical and soil ecology of tropical ecosystems. This research focused on the upper Narmada River catchment area in central India, employing geospatial methodologies to assess land use and land cover (LULC) changes. Landsat 5, 7, and 8 satellite data for 2000, 2010, and 2022 were digitally classified using the maximum likelihood algorithm within the ERDAS IMAGINE and ArcGIS platforms. LULC was delineated into five categories (i.e., water bodies, built-up land, agricultural areas, forested regions, and fallow land). A spatio-temporal analysis revealed substantial declines of approximately 156 km2 in fallow land and 148 km2 in forested areas, accounting for 3.21% of the total area, while built-up land, water bodies, and agriculture land expanded between 2000 and 2022. There was a notable negative correlation observed between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) across all LULC categories, except water bodies. The Land Degradation Vulnerability Index indicated that fallow lands, followed by forests and agriculture areas, exhibited a high vulnerability, with 43.16% of the landscape being categorized as vulnerable over the past 22 years. This study underscores the imperative of effective ecological restoration to mitigate land degradation processes and foster resilient ecosystems. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating scientific data into policy-making frameworks to ensure the comprehensive and timely management of the Narmada River landscape.