Climate change is putting more than 200 million people worldwide at risk of rising temperatures that can lead to higher rates of heat-related illness and death. This number could rise to 1.6 billion by 2050. Due to a lack of data, many cities are not prepared to take appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures. UrbanSens is an interactive platform that combines Sentinel-3 thermal data, Sentinel-2 VNIR data, and city-wide IoT sensors to understand thermal dynamics across large areas at high frequency. This allows city authorities to access street-level data in near-real time. It will provide an overview of the dynamics among temperature, humidity and demographic data. A forecasting service is also provided that uses historical remote sensing data to identify potential risk areas, which will make it possible to develop local strategies for urban resilience.
UrbanSens is a comprehensive, highly scalable smart city solution for managing thermal stress in urban areas in line with the specific needs of individual partners.
“Climate change and rising temperatures are especially affecting cities and the well-being of their populations. UrbanSens is an excellent example of how Copernicus Sentinel data can be merged with new IoT technologies to provide tailored information on web-based platforms to city planners and citizens most at risk of health issues.”
Gunter Schreier, Deputy Director, German Remote Sensing Data Center, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
UrbanSens
Sofia Garcia, Nils Karges, Andreas Bury, Antonio Castañeda, Annika Ludwig
urbansens.org@gmail.com
