Surface Urban Heat Islands service
CBK PAN has launched a new online service dedicated to monitoring urban heat islands (UHI) based on satellite data. The service is available at suhi.cbkpan.pl and allows interactive exploration of monthly, seasonal, and yearly maps of SUHI intensity for selected cities in Poland and Germany. It uses open satellite data from the Copernicus program, Sentinel-3 satellites, and land surface temperature (LST) measurements to track and analyze the urban heat island phenomenon, which affects quality of life, public health, and urban environments.
The project supports sustainable urban development by providing tools to identify and mitigate UHI effects, benefiting scientists, urban planners, and residents interested in urban climate. Currently, the service offers maps for three cities over periods of 5 years (Wrocław) and 8 years (Berlin and Dresden), with plans to expand to other cities and provide seasonal updates of current products. This tool leverages Sentinel-3 daily LST data with a 1 km pixel resolution, enabling continuous and large-scale measurement of surface urban heat islands (SUHI), which correlate with traditional UHI measurements that rely on air temperature from weather stations.
This innovative satellite-based monitoring complements and enhances understanding and management of urban heat effects, crucial for city planning against heat risks and environmental challenges.
Click here for more information on Surface Urban Heat Islands.