The government has announced that satellite data will be used to monitor and map heat in locations at greatest risk from climate change as part of a new project backed by the UK Space Agency.

A collaboration between the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) and Ordnance Survey (OS) will aim provide “meaningful insights” for policy-makers to manage the impacts of climate change in hot spots across the UK and beyond.

Using NCEO land surface temperature data derived from thermal infra-red sensors in space, OS will then help customers understand and identify how the data can be applied effectively.

The UK Space Agency is also supporting a prototype Climate Risk Index tool that delivers risk assessments based on satellite and climate data to help the insurance sector provide vital financial products to those at risk from droughts and wildfires.

Both schemes have been unveiled ahead of British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s attendance at COP26, the United Nations climate change conference being hosted by the UK in Glasgow.

“The UK is leading the way in using space to monitor, understand and tackle climate change,” said Beth Greenaway, head of earth observation and climate at the UK Space Agency. “Both of these new projects will provide decision-makers with vital information to help deal with the effects of climate change and improve lives around the world.”

The government said that the latest UK climate projections show a hot summer like 2018 is likely to occur every other year by 2050, by which time the number of heat-related deaths could more than triple from today’s level in the absence of additional adaptation; from around 2,000 per year to around 7,000.

As many as 1.2 billion people around the world could face heat stress conditions by 2100 if current levels of global warming continue.

“By working collaboratively with the UK Space Agency and leading scientists, OS will use its mapping capabilities to identify areas at greatest risk from global warming using satellite data,” said Donna Lyndsay, innovation lead, Ordnance Survey. “The outcome will be to share the learnings from accessing the Earth observation data so that governments and businesses in the UK and globally, have the meaningful insights and evidence to support resilience and adaption plans in relation to the climate crisis.”

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