Persistent extreme heatwave in Southern Asia

#Weather, #Climate change, #Image in the news, #Sentinel, #Copernicus

Published on 3 May 2022

Southern Asia, one of the most densely populated regions of the world, is currently going through an intense heatwave: the extreme heat is impacting the lives and health of hundreds of millions of people, threatening entire ecosystems.

On 1 May 2022, when this image was acquired, the air temperature reached 49.5°C in Nawabshah (Pakistan) and 47.1°C in Bikaner (India). On the same day, the Land Surface Temperature (LST) in the area reached peaks of 62°C as highlighted in this Copernicus Sentinel-3 image. (NB: The high air temperatures are reflected in land surface temperature values. The LST is the temperature of the soil and should not be confused with air temperature).

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The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission is composed of two twin satellites (Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B) both equipped with the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer, an instrument whose main objective is to provide Sea and Land Surface Temperature (SST, LST).

Check out this and tons more Sentinel images
over on the Copernicus Image of the Day website