This study investigates land use, land cover (LULC) changes, vegetation health, and drought severity in Rajasthan, India, from 1985 to 2020 using remote sensing techniques. By analyzing satellite imagery with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), temperature condition index (TCI), vegetation condition index (VCI), and NDVI deviation (Dev_NDVI), we assess the spatial and temporal dynamics of the region's landscape and drought conditions. Our findings indicate significant LULC changes, including a decrease in water bodies from 6412.87 to 2248.51 km² and dense forests by 61.37%, while built‐up areas expanded by 890.50%, reflecting substantial human impact and environmental change. Drought analysis revealed that nearly 49% of the study area experienced moderate to severe drought conditions, with VCI levels below 40%, indicating widespread drought impact across different regions and time periods. The study employs weighted sum analysis of Dev_NDVI, VCI, and TCI to create a detailed drought severity map, revealing areas of severe and extreme drought that necessitate immediate action for sustainable management. The novelty of this approach lies in its integrated multi‐index method for assessing drought over a 35 year period, providing a robust framework for analyzing environmental dynamics and the resilience of ecosystems to climatic stresses. This research emphasizes the value of remote sensing for continuous environmental monitoring and highlights future implications for integrating advanced satellite technologies to enhance drought management strategies, ultimately informing policy decisions for sustainable land and water resource management in Rajasthan and similar semi‐arid regions globally.

Habitat degradation, land-use transformation, and human-wildlife conflicts pose significant challenges to biodiversity conservation in protected areas. The Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR), a globally significant conservation landscape in India, has experienced extensive land use and land cover (LULC) changes over the past 45 years, influencing habitat connectivity and species distribution. This study aims to assess the spatiotemporal transformations in RTR’s Core and Buffer Zones from 1975 to 2020, focusing on forest loss, urban expansion, water-body depletion, and anthropo-genic land alterations. This study employs multi-temporal Landsat satellite imagery (1975, 2020), remote sensing classification techniques, Normalized Difference Vegeta-tion Index (NDVI) change detection, and Single Land Use Dynamic Degree (k%) analysis to quantify landscape changes and identify key conservation challenges. The results reveal a significant decline in dense forest (−13.81%) and shrubland (−42.83%) in the Core Zone, alongside a sharp reduction in water bodies (−63.55%), indicating increasing habitat fragmentation, environmental stress, and water scarcity. In contrast, built-up areas expanded exponentially (+7183.18%), highlighting rapid built-up en-croachment. The Buffer Zone exhibited a 42.07% increase in dense forest, reflecting conservation efforts and natural regeneration, yet also faced substantial built-up ex-pansion (+325.35%) and water body depletion (−56.92%), exacerbating human-wildlife interactions. NDVI analysis further indicated localized improvements in vegetation health but persistent degradation hotspots. The findings emphasize the need for integrated conservation strategies that address habitat fragmentation, water resource depletion, and human-wildlife conflicts. Restoring ecological corridors, implementing sustainable water management, strengthening community led conservation initiatives, and enforcing land-use regulations are key recommendations for mitigating further degradation. This study provides a critical baseline for long-term conservation plan-ning, guiding policy interventions to ensure the ecological integrity and coexistence of humans and wildlife in RTR.