Satellites zoom in on cities’ hottest neighborhoods to help combat the urban heat island effect

<https://theconversation.com/satellites-zoom-in-on-cities-hottest-neighborhoods-to-help-combat-the-urban-heat-island-effect-182925>

"Spend time in a city in summer and you can feel the urban heat rising from the
pavement and radiating from buildings. Cities are generally hotter than
surrounding rural areas, but even within cities, some residential neighborhoods
get dangerously warmer than others just a few miles away.

Within these “micro-urban heat islands,” communities can experience heat wave
conditions well before officials declare a heat emergency.

I use Earth-observing satellites and population data to map these hot spots,
often on projects with NASA. Satellites like the Landsat program have become
crucial for pinpointing urban risks so cities can prepare for and respond to
extreme heat, a top weather-related killer.

Among the many things we’ve been able to track with increasingly detailed
satellite data is that the hottest neighborhoods are typically low-income and
often have predominantly Black or Hispanic residents."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics