HOTSAT-1: Images of COP28 venue from 'flying thermometer' highlight global temperature challenges
HOTSAT-1 was launched by SpaceX over the summer. Unlike satellites that monitor the Earth with cameras that 'see' visible light, like our eyes, it monitors infrared to register how much heat is being given off in any given area.
There is increasing concern about the so-called 'urban heat island,' when hot hard surfaces keep the surrounding air much warmer at night than in more rural areas.
Missing from the piece is how the 'urban heat island' affects traditional surface temperature measurements and the reliability of the historic surface temperature record.
Oh well - the name HotSat-1 was always a rather obvious clue to the game being played here.
5 comments:
There is increasing concern about the so-called 'urban heat island,'
The "concern" is probably to do with the fact that once people start talking about such phenomena, they'll start thinking about how scientists are completely unable to compare like with like. I remember reading about a little weather station at Heathrow Airport which started taking measurements when it was a grass landing-strip in rural Middlesex. Now, it's surrounded by thousands of acres of black tarmac and heavy machinery.
Why is this an increasing concern? Stuff like tarmac and buildings holding heat is something we've known about for donkeys years. It's how school children know why the desert gets cold at night.
It isn't a symptom of climate change, man made or otherwise, and the heat held at night time is not going to cause floods and forest fires, it's barely enough to make an evening stroll a little more pleasant.
What is an increasing concern, is the amount of harmless things the doomsayers want to demonise. Is heat now going to be classed as a pollutant, just like CO2?. Are warm businesses going to have to pay to 'heat offset' with companies in Alaska?
It may sound stupid, but they've certainly got form for it
Sam - that grass landing-strip in rural Middlesex was probably referred to as a "flying field" in the early days of commercial aviation because it was a big field with a few huts. It's clear enough why weather stations were sited at airports, but using their historic temperature data for the climate game is a real giveaway.
Bucko - it sounds as if this may be another move in the game, part of the change towards emphasising "heat" or "hot" rather than something more factual. I'm sure you are right about the possibility of heat being classed as a pollutant, they certainly do have form for it.
I wonder what Hotsat's observations will reveal when all the private jets at COP28 use up lots of the runway getting airborne in 40+C temperatures?
Dave - it probably could reveal that, but will it be told to look elsewhere when they take off?
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