Download SATELLITES HELP TO DESIGN MORE HABITABLE CITIES

LAND
MARINE
ATMOSPHERE
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
CLIMATE CHANGE
SECURITY
ISSUE 16 / SEPTEMBER 2013
SATELLITES HELP TO DESIGN
MORE HABITABLE CITIES
Facts
About half of the global population lives in urban areas. In Europe, 72% of people
currently live in towns and cities, but this is expected to rise to 80% and more until
2020. In cities, temperatures can be several degrees higher than in surrounding
rural areas, especially at night.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there is evidence
that in many regions of the world the length and number of heat waves have
increased since the middle of the 20th century. This trend is likely to continue with
urban areas suffering more due to the urban heat island effect.
Copernicus satellites identify urban areas most affected by heat, helping
planners to design cooler, more comfortable cities.
Medium and high-resolution multispectral satellites with thermal-infrared sensors provide information
about thermal patterns, thereby helping to improve urban climate and weather prediction models. An
improved understanding of complex urban heat islands allows for the development of more efficient
alert systems, helping decision and policy makers to adopt effective mitigation strategies and improve
urban planning.
> An urban heat island is a
metropolitan area that is
significantly warmer than its
surroundings
> Heat waves in cities have
claimed an increasing
number of casualties in
the last years, for example,
in 2003 there were 35000
casualties in Europe
> Prolonged periods of high
temperatures increase
the demand for energy
and water, trigger health
problems and add to
air pollution and the
greenhouse effect
Benefits
Thermal-infrared
measurements from satellites:
Heat wave over Paris and surroundings
This thermal infrared image from
Envisat’s Advanced Along-Track Scanning
Radiometer (AATSR) shows the mean
air temperature in the area of Île-deFrance at night (22:00h) in summer
2003. At the centre of the image, the
city of Paris appears as a dark red spot
with temperatures of 21°C and higher.
Temperatures gradually decrease towards
the outskirts and the countryside down
to 16°C (blue shades).
In the summer of 2003 Europe was
struck by a major heat wave. Paris was
severely affected and led to thousands
of heat-related deaths. Models suggest
that in the future, heat waves of this
intensity and duration could occur every
3 to 4 years.
Source: VITO, Planetek & ESA
> help to understand the
dynamics of urban heat
islands
> help city planners to design
more habitable cities and
create energy efficiency
Policy Objectives
> Directive on Energy
Efficiency of Buildings
> Directive on Energy EndUse Efficiency and Energy
Services
> Framework Directive on
Ecodesign
> Green Paper on Energy
Efficiency
> European Climate Change
Programme
www.esa.int/copernicus • http://copernicus.eu/
ISSUE 10 / SEPTEMBER 2013
COPERNICUS
ACTIVITIES
Copernicus services
The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service
makes use of satellite data to provide
geographical information on land cover
and land-surface temperature, thereby
supporting applications such as spatial and
urban planning.
Example products:
> Low resolution biophysical variables such
as land surface temperature
Sentinel contribution
Next steps
The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission will
support urban heat island monitoring by
providing:
> Improve the scientific understanding of
factors influencing urban climates and the
potential of satellite data for monitoring
> Land-surface temperature high-accuracy
information
> Establish an operational Earth
observation-based service for monitoring
and assessment of urban heat islands
> Two-day global coverage
> Real-time products delivered within three
hours
> High-resolution maps of artificial surfaces
> Updates of the European Urban Atlas
Sentinel-3
A fever thermometer for the Earth
Hot spots on Earth can be identified best from space with satellites that
provide thermal-infrared data.
For more than 10 years, the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer
(AATSR) on Envisat provided thermal measurements over the oceans and
land. An even more accurate sensor of this kind, the Sea and Land Surface
Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR), will be carried on the Copernicus
Sentinel-3 mission. The SLSTR is designed to measure ocean and landsurface temperature. It has nine spectral bands, an accuracy of 0.2K and a
ground spatial resolution of 1 km.
The first Sentinel-3 satellite will be ready for launch in 2014, followed by a
twin satellite to optimise coverage for the Copernicus services.
The Envisat AATSR image on the left shows the land surface temperature of the UK and northern France on
16 July 2005 during the night. The northern part of the UK was obscured by clouds and is therefore shown in grey.
London and Paris stand out in dark orange and red colour as their temperatures are higher because of the urban
heat island effect.
Source: ESA
www.esa.int/copernicus • http://copernicus.eu/