Key points
- LUN has produced satellite maps of surface temperatures for Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Crimea, as well as Paris and Warsaw.
- The highest surface temperatures among all the cities in the sample were recorded in Ukraine – up to 54.5 degrees in Crimea and 52.9 degrees in Odesa.
- In Kyiv, the surface heated up to 47 degrees in industrial areas, whilst the Holosiivskyi Forest remained 10–15 degrees cooler.
- The maps show surface temperatures – of roofs, tarmac, soil and vegetation – rather than air temperatures.
- The data was obtained from satellites of the European Copernicus Sentinel-3 programme between 26 and 29 June 2026.
- Green spaces, bodies of water and low-density development have a direct impact on quality of life during the summer heatwave.
LUN has created surface temperature maps for Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Crimea, as well as Paris and Warsaw, and has shown that the highest readings among all the cities in the sample were recorded in Ukraine.
The maps are based on data from the European Copernicus Sentinel-3 programme for 26–29 June 2026. They show surface temperatures – of roofs, tarmac, soil, water and vegetation – at the time of the satellite’s overflight around midday, rather than air temperature.
The study demonstrates the urban heat island effect: densely built-up areas heat up more, whilst large parks, forests and bodies of water remain cooler.
Within Kyiv, the highest surface temperatures – up to 47 degrees – were recorded in industrial and transport areas, primarily in the Darnytsia industrial zone and near the Bortnytsia aeration station. In contrast, the Holosiivskyi Forest, Koncha-Zaspa, the Dnipro River and the Kyiv Reservoir remain 10–15 degrees cooler than the surrounding built-up areas.
Among the cities in the sample, the highest surface temperatures were recorded in Ukraine: in Odesa, the surface reached 52.9 degrees, and in Crimea, 54.5 degrees. This exceeds the maximum values recorded in Paris (47.2 degrees) and Warsaw (50.1 degrees).
In Lviv, the central districts, Levandivka, Kulparkiv and the industrial areas were the hottest, whilst Bryukhovychi, Vynnyky and the green spaces remained cooler.
In Ivano-Frankivsk, the central part of the city gets the hottest, whilst in Odesa there is a noticeable contrast between the central districts and the coast.
The maps have been created using open-access data from the Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B satellites, equipped with the SLSTR thermal radiometer, with a spatial resolution of approximately one kilometre.
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Over 1,300 people died in Europe due to extreme heat – WHO
