Remotely sensed thermal information applied to urban climate analysis

Urban heat island (UHI) effects on the ten most populated cities of Hungary, including the Budapest agglomeration area, were analyzed using remotely sensed data. Day- and night-time surface temperature time series observed by sensor MODIS on satellite Terra were used to determine UHI intensities. UHI intensity was defined as the difference in spatially averaged surface temperatures between urban and surrounding rural pixels. Spatial structures of UHIs were determined and compared for different seasons and macrocirculation conditions.