NASA scientific equipment draws heat maps from Europe from space

ECOSTRESS has measured surface temperatures in the cities of Rome and Milan (Italy), Paris (France), Madrid (Spain) in the morning of 27-28 June.

The eco-radiometer on the space station (ECOSTRESS) of the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) measured the temperature of the Earth's surface from space at various times of the day, drawing the Heat map of 4 European cities in the recent heat wave.

Heat mapping device of 4 European cities in the recent heat wave.(Source: NASA / JPL).

According to a statement from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on July 3, ECOSTRESS measured surface temperatures in the cities of Rome and Milan (Italy), Paris (France) and Madrid (Spain). ) in the morning of 27-28 June.

The figures, in which hotter temperatures indicate red and colder, are blue, showing how the city centers are hotter than the surrounding areas.

According to JPL, it is due to the "urban heat island" effect , the result of urban surfaces accumulating and re-radiating heat during the day.

In fact, these surface temperatures are as high as 25-30 degrees Celsius in the early morning, indicating that much of the heat from the previous day has been absorbed into surfaces that are highly capable of absorbing heat, such as Asphalt, concrete and water areas.

This amount of heat cannot be dissipated before the new day begins. The heat retained makes the temperature in the middle of the day higher, up to 40 degrees Celsius in some places, when the heat is prolonged.

ECOSTRESS has been brought to the International Space Station (ISS) since the summer of 2018.

This is a new scientific device from NASA to study how plants use water effectively, by measuring their temperature from space.

According to JPL, although the original goal was to monitor plant health, ECOSTRESS also discovered the hot weather events that just happened in Europe, considering it as an experiment.