New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is in talks with French space agency CNES to build a thermal imaging instrument for satellites that could be used to detect urban heat islands across the country.

The imager which will be developed in five to six years could also be used for yield assessment and water stress in various areas.

“While we can see wavelengths between 400-700 microns, wavelengths between 10-12 microns are not visible to human eye. The camera on this imager will be able to translate these wavelengths into high resolution images that can be analysed by experts," Isro chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar said on the sidelines of a conference on space technologies for climate change.

Urban heat islands refers to increased surface temperatures in some parts of the city as compared to the surrounding areas, creating their own microclimates. Urban heat islands are the result of a mix of many natural and human-made factors.

Air pollution, building materials, emission of heat from human activity, along with natural factors such as geographical location, can cause climatic differences between cities and non-urban areas. Some of the Indian cities which have heat islands include Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Vishakapatnam, Vijayawada, Bhopal and Chennai.

Satellite infrared imagery can be a valuable tool to analyse the growing phenomenon of urban heat islands and has been used in the US, China and several European countries to capture the growth of urban heat islands over years.

Thermal imaging measures heat emitted by objects on the ground which can help measure heat islands in cities. Warmer objects emit more heat than cooler ones, which means that thermal imaging gives an indication of the temperature of objects such as buildings, roads and vegetation.

The Isro chief also added that the national space agency had a very busy few months ahead. On 16 December, Isro will launch six satellites for Singapore, while the remaining satellites in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System will be launched by March next year. Kumar told Mint that the new financial year would see 10-12 new launches.

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