Recent advances in thermal remote sensing for urban planning and management

Cities contribute to global warming and are particularly affected by it but they also generate new solutions for climate protection and adaptation. This requires planning under great uncertainties. Therefore, a good understanding of the urban climate and its spatial structure are essential. Besides, soft measures like real time monitoring and warning systems that decrease the sensitivity of the affected population should be considered. In this paper it is shown that thermal remote sensing can contribute to both - mapping the thermal heterogeneity and real time monitoring of air temperatures. Two recent approaches are highlighted in this case study for Belgium and the Netherlands. The annual cycle parameters (ACP) derive information from a large number of thermal infrared satellite observations and allow more generic assessment of spatial thermal surface characteristics. The multi-temporal air temperature estimation scheme (MATES) allows more precise prediction of air temperatures from satellite data.