Heat maps show cities became ‘urban heat islands’ as temperatures in parts of Europe soared in June

The slightest mention of a heat wave in the UK leads to sold-out ice creams, barbecues heating up and shorts dusting as the nation celebrates.

In June this year, air temperatures rose to over 33°C in parts of the country, while sharp increases were also felt in Europe, the US and Asia.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, air temperatures were recorded in many cities that were more than 18°F (10°C) above the average for the time of year.

But new heat maps released by the European Space Agency (ESA) show that this may not be much of a cause for celebration.

They show that heat dissipates more slowly in urban areas, creating ‘heat islands’ and making life more difficult.

Experts fear that this effect will only increase as climate change continues.

An instrument aboard the International Space Station has recorded recent extreme temperatures from the land surface off Milan, Paris and Prague.

The instrument is called ECOSTRESS and is owned by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

It provides geospatial information that helps plan and manage water resources for future heat waves.

The cityscapes captured by ECOSTRESS show land surface temperatures in Milan, Paris and Prague on June 18 in the early afternoon.

The temperature of the land surface is different from the air temperature, as the latter is given in weather forecasts and is a measure of how warm the air is above the ground.

What ECOSTRESS measures is how hot the actual surface of the land would feel to the touch.

This is a better indication of how the heat rising from the Earth’s surface affects weather and climate patterns.

An urban heat island occurs when an urban area experiences warmer temperatures than nearby rural areas with more vegetation.

This is because natural ground cover, such as vegetation, has been replaced by surfaces that do not absorb or retain heat, such as sidewalks and buildings.

The ECOSTRESS images show how hot the surface was in the built-up areas of the cities and the cooling effects of grassy parkland, vegetation and water.

Glynn Hulley, a JPL physicist, said: ‘ECOSTRESS continues to visualize the impact of extreme heat in cities around the world, including the recent record-breaking heatwaves in both Europe and the US.

“These data can be used to identify hotspots and vulnerable regions and assess the cooling effects of heat-limiting approaches.”

In mid-June, many European cities have endured air temperatures over 104°F (40°C) for several consecutive days.

In Tokyo, Japan, air temperatures above 35°C were recorded for five days in a row.

This was the worst documented run of hot weather in June since records began in 1875.

In the US, nearly a third of the population had some form of heat advice on June 15.

The world has already warmed by about 1.98°F (1.1°C) since the industrial revolution, which is expected to continue to increase unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that it is almost certain that the intensity and duration of heat waves has increased worldwide since the 1950s.

Experts generally agreed that this is a result of human-induced climate change, and that the past month is a reminder of things to come.

The ECOSTRESS also simulates data that will be provided during the future Land Surface Temperature Monitoring (LSTM) mission of a new Copernicus Sentinel satellite.

The LSTM will provide systematic measurements of land surface temperature using a thermal infrared sensor.

The data will help land planners and farmers to understand and respond to climate variability, for example by managing water resources and predicting droughts.

Both NASA and ESA are working together to lead a response to climate change through their separate monitoring missions.

The NASA-ESA Framework Agreement for a Strategic Partnership in Earth System Science was signed last month.

Benjamin Koetz from ESA said: ‘The instrument proves to be extremely valuable in helping us develop and prepare for Europe’s LSTM mission, which will provide land surface temperature data with a comparable resolution of 50 m.

“LSTM is planned to be launched by the end of the decade. The main goal of LSTM is to respond to the needs of European farmers to make agricultural production more sustainable as water shortages increase, thus helping farmers get more “crop for the drop”.

“However, it is clear that we are all experiencing more heat waves and LSTM will also be important to help authorities tackle the serious problem of urban heat islands by monitoring the microclimate in the city.”