This map shows approximated maximum air temperatures at 2 meters above the ground.
Maximum air temperature is a factor of mosquito development time as well as an indicator of Plasmodium parasite development within the mosquito vectors. An average air temperature range of 18-32°C is considered to be required for vector development and potential malaria transmission.
Due to confounding geophysical variables, it is difficult to estimate the maximum temperature of a specific location using satellites. Conversely, studies have shown that satellite based observations of minimum land surface temperatures (LST) are more accurate.
To create a product that gives the best estimate of maximum air temperature, values shown on this map are inferred by combining (LST) are more accurate. with average diurnal cycle values at that location. The diurnal cycle is the change in temperature throughout the course of 24 hours at a single location.
For example, if the LST is 10°C and the historical diurnal cycle for that location is known to average 12°C on that date, the inferred maximum air temperature will be calculated as 22 °C.
The black points on the map indicate locations of weather stations.
Ceccato, P., Vancutsem, C., Temimi, M. (2010). Monitoring Air and Land Surface Temperatures from Remotely Sensed Data for Climate-Human Health Applications. International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) pp. 178-180
Inferred Maximum Air Temperature maps are produced every 8 days on a 1 km spatial resolution basis.
LST is derived from the MODIS sensor aboard the Aqua satellite courtesy of the United States Geological Survey. Local diurnal cycles are obtained from the WORLDCLIM database.
Contact help@iri.columbia.edu with any technical questions or problems with this Map Room, for example, the forecasts not displaying or updating properly.
The interface consists of a clickable map that allows users to generate customized time series graphs based on geographical parameterization.
By clicking on a map location, the interface will provide a time series of maximum air temperature reconstructed for that location (from Jul 2002 to the last 8-day composite available).
For comparison purposes, the time series will also display the observed maximum air temperature at the closest station to the clicked location.
By placing temperature in historical context, comparisons can be made to past outbreaks and useful early warning information can be developed for epidemic prone regions.