So hot that we can see those Urban Heat Islands from space

During the June heatwaves in Europe NASA was studying the “Ecostress” of various cities.

The heat coming off Charles DeGualle’s runways is easily visible from space. As are all the other ideal locations for putting climate change thermometers.

h/t To AndyG

The NASA Ecostress map for Paris

Hands up who thinks thermometers in 1880 were reading too warm? (There’s a job waiting for you in a national met bureau.)

The shots were taken in the early morning:

They show how the central core of each city is much hotter than the surrounding natural landscape due to the urban heat island effect – a result of urban surfaces storing and re-radiating heat throughout the day.

he fact that surface temperatures were as high as 77-86 degrees Fahrenheit (25-30 degrees Celsius) in the early morning indicates that much of the heat from previous days was stored by surfaces with high heat capacity (such as asphalt, concrete and water bodies) and unable to dissipate before the next day. The trapped heat resulted in even higher midday temperatures, in the high 40s (Celsius) in some places, as the heat wave continued.

So these heat sinks have had all […]