--- title: "Urban heat and trees monitoring | Nexus Observatory" description: "Heat is the deadliest weather in many cities, and it is not the same in every street. Street-level temperature and humidity sensors…" url: https://observatory.global/industries/cities/urban-heat/ publisher: Nexus Observatory Inc. updated: 2026-11-02 --- [Nexus Observatory](https://observatory.global/) / [Cities](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/) / [Specialized fields](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/fields/) / **Urban heat and trees** # Urban heat, measured where people live. Heat is the deadliest weather in many cities, and it is not the same in every street. Street-level temperature and humidity sensors, rooftop references and soil moisture under street trees report to one record the city's heat plan, health teams and park services all use. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) How it works [Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) **Industry**: Cities **Measurements**: 5 **Sources cited**: 3 1. Cities · Urban heat and trees Not every street is equally hot On a heat-wave night some neighbourhoods stay several degrees warmer than the official station shows, and the people most at risk often live there. Knowing which streets are hottest, and which trees are drying out, lets the city send care, cooling and water where they matter. 2. What is measured Street heat, references and tree soil Shielded sensors on lamp posts measure air temperature and humidity at street level across neighbourhoods. Park and rooftop stations give the reference, soil probes in tree pits show which trees are drying out, and satellite thermal images map surface heat across the city. InstrumentsStreet temperature and humidity · Reference stations · Tree soil probes · Satellite thermal imagery 3. The base node A node that knows a wall from the air The gateway's node checks each street sensor against its neighbours and the park reference, flags one that reads the sun or a wall, computes heat indices and raises heat and tree-drought alerts, signing every value before it leaves. Suspect readings are flagged, never silently dropped. 4. Radio and links LoRaWAN across the neighbourhoods Many small battery sensors on lamp posts and in tree pits reach a few gateways on roofs over LoRaWAN, with no cabling. Gateways and park stations reach the city platform over cellular, or the city’s fibre where it runs. Each gateway is supervised. LinksLoRaWAN · Public cellular · Fibre 5. How it works From a hot street to a knock on the door On a heat-wave evening, sensors in one neighbourhood stay hot long after sunset. The node computes the heat index and raises an alert for that area; health and social services visit vulnerable residents there first. The record keeps the readings and the response. 6. From order to operation · Order Scope the heat plan The scope reads the heat-health action plan, the neighbourhoods and people at risk, the street tree inventory and cooling centres. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the point plan by neighbourhood, the radio design, the integration with the heat plan and a price per point and per service. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) 7. From order to operation · Survey Choose posts in the shade of the method Crews choose lamp posts in each neighbourhood following urban siting guidance: height, distance from walls and vents, sky view. They pick representative tree pits with the park service, find park and roof reference sites and check gateway coverage. Each candidate is photographed for the design. 8. From order to operation · Permits Posts, trees and data Sensors on lamp posts and in tree pits need the owners' consent and follow street works rules. Sharing data with health agencies is agreed in writing. Every consent is kept with the point it covers. Residents are told what the sensors measure, and the park service agrees every probe placed in a tree pit. 9. From order to operation · Build Build shielded points Temperature and humidity sensors are fitted in radiation shields, soil probes and endpoints are tested together with the gateways and enrolled with their identities. Every point is labelled with its street and post number. Configurations are tested on the bench with the gateway before anything is installed. [Open the Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) 10. From order to operation · Install Install before summer Crews mount shielded sensors at the sited height, set soil probes in tree pits at root depth, install reference stations in parks and on roofs and gateways where they see the neighbourhood. Every point is photographed and its siting recorded. 11. From order to operation · Commission Compare with the reference Each endpoint proves its identity. Street sensors are compared with a travelling reference and the park station, soil probes with a hand sample, and heat alerts are tested to the heat plan's contacts before the warm season. Each point joins the map only when its checks pass. 12. From order to operation · Operate Warn, cool and water on evidence During heat waves the city sees which neighbourhoods are hottest, health teams reach vulnerable people there first, cooling centres open where needed and park crews water the trees whose soil is driest. Every alert is kept on the record. Each season is reviewed with the record. 13. From order to operation · Maintain Check each spring Each spring, shields are cleaned, sensors checked against the travelling reference, batteries changed on plan and soil probes reset after tree works. Every change is recorded, so neighbourhood heat series stay comparable year to year. Spares are kept ready for quick swaps in the warm season. [Book field services](https://observatory.global/contact/field-service/) 14. Data products For health teams, parks and planners Heat plan coordinators and health teams receive neighbourhood heat maps; health and social services receive heat alerts by area; park and tree services receive tree drought alerts; urban planners receive heat records to place trees, shade and cooling. Each product carries its siting. [See the data products](https://observatory.global/data-products/) 15. Evidence Heat measured the right way Every reading, alert and response is signed and kept. Street sensors follow WMO guidance for measuring the urban heat island, references follow WMO instrument practice, and alerts support heat-health action plans, so the city can show where heat struck and what it did. Drawn againstWMO-No. 1292 · WMO-No. 8 · WHO heat-health action plans 16. What you get Environmental exposure monitoring for health programmes Heat, air and water exposure measurements around facilities and communities; no diagnosis or treatment. Delivered as managed service and data licence, for health authorities, hospital networks, employers. Scale: City to national. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard. [Talk to sales](https://observatory.global/contact/sales-enquiry/) 17. Next step Plan urban heat and trees with us Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for urban heat and trees. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace. [Plan a deployment](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) [Open the Station Builder](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) [Open the Studio](https://observatory.global/studio/) **01** The place and its hazards ## Where it runs, and what can go wrong. Operating contextCities heat up more than their surroundings, and some neighbourhoods far more than others. Heat-health action plans set how warnings and care are organised, trees and green space cool streets if they are watered, and cooling centres must be where they are needed. Official weather stations are sited away from the city's hottest places. Hazards - Heat illness and deaths among vulnerable people - Neighbourhoods much hotter than official stations show - Street trees dying in drought - Cooling centres in the wrong places - Sensors mounted where they read the wall, not the air **02** What must be measured ## What, where, how often, and under which rules. Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below. | Measurement | Where | Cadence | Sources | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Air temperature and humidity at street level | Sensors on lamp posts across neighbourhoods, sited to urban practice | Continuous | 12 | | Reference weather | Rooftop and park stations | Continuous | 2 | | Tree soil moisture | Probes in tree pits and planted beds | Several times a day | 1 | | Heat-health thresholds | Each warning area, from forecasts and measurements | Daily in the warm season | 3 | | Surface temperature | The whole city, from satellite thermal imagery | Each available pass | 1 | **03** The observation stack ## From one base unit to a network. The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol. 1. **01** Base unit A street point: a shielded temperature and humidity sensor or a tree soil probe on a LoRaWAN endpoint that signs every value. [Build a station →](https://observatory.global/studio/builder/) 2. **02** Site A neighbourhood: street points, a park reference station and a gateway on a roof with cellular backhaul. [Plan a site →](https://observatory.global/contact/deployment/) 3. **03** Fleet Every point of a city run as one fleet, with one record. [Managed offers →](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/solutions/) 4. **04** Network Cities, health agencies and meteorological services exchange heat data through open standards. [The open protocol →](https://observatory.global/protocol/) - **01** Compact weather station - **02** Soil probe - **03** LPWAN endpoint - **04** LoRaWAN gateway - **05** Cellular modem/router - **06** Battery case - **07** Pole Radio and links ### LoRaWAN Many small battery sensors on lamp posts and in tree pits reach a few gateways on roofs, with no cabling. Radio and links ### Public cellular Gateways and park stations reach the city platform over the public network. Radio and links ### Fibre Gateways on city buildings use the city's own fibre where it runs. Edge computeThe gateway's node checks each sensor against its neighbours and the park reference, flags sensors in the sun or against a wall, computes heat indices and raises heat and tree-drought alerts. PowerStreet sensors and soil probes run on batteries for years; gateways on building power. **04** How it works ## From the instrument to the product. One observation's path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks. Urban heat and trees: data path – of 07 01 Instruments Measurement with sensor identity andcalibration 02 Field radio 03 Gateway 04 Backhaul 05 Site Consumer inbox deduplicates and applieseach record once into governed data 06 Data store Governed product through API, map orexport, correction-aware 07 Products OGC SensorThings APILoRaWANCommon Alerting Protocol 08 Power and structure Supplies 12 V DC to the field equipment 01 Compact weather station SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 02 Soil probe SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 03 LPWAN endpoint Analogue I/O · SDI-12 · RS-485 04 LoRaWAN gateway Ethernet · RF · GNSS antenna 05 Cellular modem/router Ethernet · USB · RS-232 Site MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B Governed data store Versioned, correction-aware Neighbourhood heat maps Heat alerts by area Tree drought alerts Heat records for planning 06 Battery case USB 07 Pole SDI-12 SDI-12 LoRaWAN Ethernet LTE/NR From the instrument to the published product: each band is a tier, each connector names its interface, and the numbers match the bill of materials. Hover or focus a block to trace its path; scroll or step to follow one observation. | Item | Equipment | Data ports | Protocols | Power in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 01 | **Compact weather station** All-in-one or compact station for temperature, humidity, pressure, wind and rain at a site. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC | | 02 | **Soil probe** Probe for volumetric soil moisture, temperature and conductivity at one or more depths. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC | | 03 | **LPWAN endpoint** Battery-powered endpoint on LoRaWAN, NB-IoT or LTE-M that carries one or more sensors. | Analogue I/OSDI-12RS-485 | LoRaWAN, OMA LwM2M, CoAP | Internal battery, Energy harvesting | | 04 | **LoRaWAN gateway** Multi-channel LoRaWAN gateway that forwards uplinks to a network server and schedules downlinks within duty limits. | EthernetRFGNSS antenna | LoRaWAN, MQTT 5 | PoE, 12 V DC | | 05 | **Cellular modem/router** LTE or NR modem or router that uses a public carrier or private network as backhaul. | EthernetUSBRS-232 | 3GPP E-UTRA air interface, 3GPP NR air interface, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE | | 06 | **Battery case** Portable battery pack with DC outputs for field kits. | USB | Modbus | AC mains, HV DC, USB PD | | 07 | **Pole** Utility, street or dedicated pole with clamp positions. | — | — | — | How it scales 01 Instruments Arbitrary qualified sensors and instruments whosemeasurements are ingested with calibration, units,geometry, time, custody and uncertainty. ×n 02 Node The minimum useful deployable unit: server, ruggedappliance, radio node, sensor gateway, satelliteterminal, AI, scientific, vehicle or virtual node. Node Node agent 03 Site The minimum independently operable localgovernance and failure domain: one or more nodesplus local network, identity, policy, evidence,storage, products and operator surfaces. SITE Node Node Node ×n 04 Cluster An optional scale or specialisation domain forscheduling, shared storage, accelerators or datalocality. CLUSTER ×n 05 Fleet Coordinates plans, acknowledgements,convergence evidence, update campaigns andcorrection propagation across nodes and sites. FLEET Fleet controller ×n 06 Federation An exchange of products, capabilities, events orwork across approved, independently administeredtrust domains, using explicit trust, policy,data-locality, version and correction contracts. TRUST DOMAIN TRUST DOMAIN TRUST DOMAIN ×n Verifier Applications Data in the field Telemetry Control Data upstream Control Data upstream Control Exchange Evidence Events Exchange The smallest deployable unit is one node; the same unit is replicated to meet the demand. Nodes form a site, sites may form a cluster, sites and clusters are coordinated as a fleet, and fleets exchange across independently administered trust domains. Each plane is a separate channel with its own open binding. **Data in the field**: MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B; connectors for LoRaWAN, OPC UA and instrument buses. **Telemetry**: OpenTelemetry OTLP. **Control**: TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication; protobuf messages over gRPC or HTTP/2. **Data upstream**: At-least-once publication with repeat-safe keys over the control channel or NATS JetStream; QUIC MAY be used on lossy links. **Evidence**: DSSE-signed in-toto statements; SLSA provenance; SCITT transparency receipts. **Events**: Event envelopes mapped to CloudEvents 1.0; channels described in AsyncAPI 3. **Exchange**: OpenAPI 3.1; the OGC API family; SensorThings; STAC; WIS 2.0. **05** From order to operation ## Every step, from the first call to a running site. The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance. 1. 01 Order Scope the heat plan The scope reads the heat-health action plan, the neighbourhoods and people at risk, the street tree inventory and cooling centres. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns the point plan by neighbourhood, the radio design, the integration with the heat plan and a price per point and per service. 3 2. 02 Survey Choose posts in the shade of the method Crews choose lamp posts in each neighbourhood following urban siting guidance: height, distance from walls and vents, sky view. They pick representative tree pits with the park service, find park and roof reference sites and check gateway coverage. Each candidate is photographed for the design. 1 3. 03 Permits Posts, trees and data Sensors on lamp posts and in tree pits need the owners' consent and follow street works rules. Sharing data with health agencies is agreed in writing. Every consent is kept with the point it covers. Residents are told what the sensors measure, and the park service agrees every probe placed in a tree pit. 4. 04 Build Build shielded points Temperature and humidity sensors are fitted in radiation shields, soil probes and endpoints are tested together with the gateways and enrolled with their identities. Every point is labelled with its street and post number. Configurations are tested on the bench with the gateway before anything is installed. 5. 05 Install Install before summer Crews mount shielded sensors at the sited height, set soil probes in tree pits at root depth, install reference stations in parks and on roofs and gateways where they see the neighbourhood. Every point is photographed and its siting recorded. 6. 06 Commission Compare with the reference Each endpoint proves its identity. Street sensors are compared with a travelling reference and the park station, soil probes with a hand sample, and heat alerts are tested to the heat plan's contacts before the warm season. Each point joins the map only when its checks pass. 7. 07 Operate Warn, cool and water on evidence During heat waves the city sees which neighbourhoods are hottest, health teams reach vulnerable people there first, cooling centres open where needed and park crews water the trees whose soil is driest. Every alert is kept on the record. Each season is reviewed with the record. 3 8. 08 Maintain Check each spring Each spring, shields are cleaned, sensors checked against the travelling reference, batteries changed on plan and soil probes reset after tree works. Every change is recorded, so neighbourhood heat series stay comparable year to year. Spares are kept ready for quick swaps in the warm season. **06** Data products and integration ## What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems. Data products - **Neighbourhood heat maps** Heat plan coordinators and health teams - **Heat alerts by area** Health and social services - **Tree drought alerts** Park and tree services - **Heat records for planning** Urban planners Integration - **Heat-health action plan** Alerts by area reach the plan's coordinators beside the meteorological warnings. - **Tree management** Drought alerts open watering jobs in the tree inventory. - **City data platform** Observations are served through OGC SensorThings with siting metadata. Exchanged through OGC SensorThings API, LoRaWAN, Common Alerting Protocol. **07** Questions buyers ask ## Before you scope it. Why not use the airport's station? It is sited away from the city's hottest places; street sensors show where people actually are. Who issues heat warnings? The meteorological and health authorities; city data shows where to act first. Do sensors in the sun give wrong numbers? They are shielded and sited to urban guidance, and the node flags any that read high. Can we water trees on evidence? Yes. Soil moisture shows which trees need water first. **08** Resources ## The sources behind this page. Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does. 1. **1** [Guidance on Measuring, Modelling and Monitoring the Canopy Layer Urban Heat Island (WMO-No. 1292)](https://library.wmo.int/) World Meteorological Organization · 2023 2. **2** [Guide to Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO-No. 8)](https://library.wmo.int/) World Meteorological Organization 3. **3** [Heat-health action plans: guidance](https://www.who.int/) World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe · 2008 **09** Related ## Use cases and solutions. [Solution Environmental exposure monitoring for health programmesHeat, air and water exposure measurements around facilities and communities; no diagnosis or treatment.Solutions for cities →](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/solutions/#exposure-monitoring) [Solution Sensing as a ServiceObservation networks designed, installed, operated and maintained for a monthly fee: weather, hydromet, air, seismic and environmental stations, with data delivered under a licence.Solutions for cities →](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/solutions/#sensing-service) [Solution Municipal sensing and connectivity layersCity-wide LPWAN or private 5G as a shared layer for public sensors and services.Solutions for cities →](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/solutions/#municipal-connectivity) **10** Cities: specialized fields ## Other fields of this industry. [Specialized field Urban air qualityReference stations and dense sensor networks for particles and gases, with weather to trace sources, calibrated against each other, on cellular and LoRaWAN, for street-level maps people can trust.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/air-quality/) [Specialized field Streets and mobilityCounts of people, bikes and vehicles, speeds, kerb use and junction safety by camera and radar processed at the edge, on private 5G and fibre, so streets are planned on evidence and privacy is kept.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/street-mobility/) [Specialized field Public buildings and energyEnergy, heat and water meters, indoor air and comfort in schools, offices and pools, with weather for normalisation, on the buildings' own networks behind a security gateway.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/public-buildings/) [Specialized field Waste and street servicesBin fill levels, collection routes, transfer station gas and weather, on LoRaWAN across the city, so crews empty what is full and the waste record follows from the work.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/waste-services/) [Specialized field Noise and the night-time cityClass 1 noise monitoring at hot spots, event classification at the edge for nightlife, construction and traffic, with weather, on cellular, so complaints are answered with evidence and noise plans work.The full field →](https://observatory.global/industries/cities/noise/) ### Bring us the site. 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