Every number on this map comes from public satellite data and a documented pipeline. Here's exactly what we measure — and what we don't.
Multispectral thermal satellite imaging, converted to surface temperature and quality-checked through our own processing pipeline. Current scene: June 28, 2026, 10:46 am local, cloud-free. The underlying measurements come from scientific-grade orbital sensors — the same class of data used in peer-reviewed urban-heat research.
A fresh satellite pass over Dubai lands every 8–9 days. We publish the newest cloud-free morning scene; summer skies over Dubai are clear most of the time, so the map stays days — not months — old.
Building footprints come from Overture Maps (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). We compute each large roof's mean and peak temperature from all thermal pixels it covers. 556 roofs above 2,500 m² qualify in the current scene.
The thermal band's native resolution is ~100 m. A warehouse the size of a football pitch gets a genuinely building-specific reading; a villa does not — its pixel blends with neighbours, roads and gardens. That's why per-building numbers appear only for roofs over 2,500 m², and smaller places read as area temperature.
Alongside the measured morning value we publish an estimated peak roof temperature — a diurnal-cycle model that starts from the satellite measurement and adds the day's remaining solar gain, air-temperature rise, wind cooling and the surface's thermal inertia, using hourly weather for that exact day. Roofs typically peak between 1 and 3 pm. The estimate is clearly labelled as modelled, never as a measurement, and its coefficients are being calibrated against on-roof sensors in Dubai.
The satellite passes at ~10:46 am — that measured value is the anchor of everything above. Rankings compare like with like — same morning, same sun — so the differences between roofs are real, and the afternoon peak is higher than the morning reading.
This is the temperature of the surface itself — the roof skin, the asphalt — not the air. Surfaces in direct sun run far hotter than air temperature; that's exactly why a 45 °C day produces 70 °C roofs, and why roof colour and coating matter so much.
Journalists and researchers: the aggregate data is free to cite with a link, the map is free to embed, and we'll happily cut a custom view for your district or story. Write to info@coolroofuae.com.
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