Introduction
Indian cities face uneven heat distribution caused by urban surfaces, industrial activity, and waste management challenges. SatLeo Labs, a pioneering space-tech startup, leverages thermal satellites, artificial intelligence, and drones to provide real-time detection of heat and pollution risks. This innovative approach enables proactive urban planning and supports climate resilience efforts.
Uneven Heat Across Indian Cities
Heat varies significantly across neighborhoods within Indian cities. While some areas remain comfortable, others endure intense warmth due to heat absorption and retention by concrete, asphalt, traffic, waste, and landfills. Industrial zones also contribute to localized heat by releasing stored warmth into the surrounding environment.
Historically, cities have relied on complaints and visible damage to identify heat and pollution problems. However, heat that accumulates within landfills or urban infrastructure often remains unnoticed until it triggers severe consequences, such as fires.
SatLeo Labs is Changing How Cities See Heat and Pollution
Backed by IN-SPACe, SatLeo Labs uses thermal satellite imaging, artificial intelligence, and drone surveillance to detect heat and pollution developments in near real-time. By transforming temperature data into actionable insights, the company helps local governments shift from reactive responses toward strategic, climate-smart urban management.
Understanding Heat Challenges in Indian Cities
Most Indian cities lie in warm-humid, hot-dry, or mixed climate zones, naturally contributing to higher temperatures. Surjyatapa Ray, Associate Manager for Urban Policy at Jana Urban Space Foundation, notes that urbanization intensifies this effect by creating urban heat islands—localized areas where temperatures significantly exceed those of surrounding regions due to concentrated buildings and paved surfaces.
Waste and Landfill Challenges
Although municipal waste collection has improved over the last decade, sorting and recycling are still limited. According to 2021 Central Pollution Control Board data, nearly 19% of municipal solid waste is directly landfilled, and an estimated 32% is unaccounted for, likely illegally dumped or burned.
Landfills also emit methane gas during organic waste decomposition. Because methane traps approximately 86 times more heat than carbon dioxide over 20 years, these emissions represent a “hidden heat trap” that silently elevates air pollution and ambient temperatures, impacting public health and urban livability.
“Landfill methane represents a ‘hidden heat trap’ in cities, silently increasing air pollution and warming the surroundings, underscoring the need for early detection and control.” – Surjyatapa Ray
Real Consequences of Rising Urban Heat
Heat increases have tangible health and economic impacts. Data obtained under the Right to Information Act reveal that between March and June 2025, India experienced 7,192 suspected heatstroke cases and 14 confirmed deaths attributable to extreme heat.
Heat exposure disproportionately affects vulnerable populations. Landfills are often located on city outskirts where informal settlements arise, thus placing marginalized residents at higher risk of heat stress and pollution-related health harms.
The Invisible Dangers SatLeo Labs Addresses
Heat and pollution hazards frequently accumulate quietly and remain invisible until critical thresholds are exceeded. SatLeo Labs developed technology to reveal these hidden risks by delivering detailed, real-time thermal imaging and AI analysis, empowering cities to act before conditions deteriorate.
According to Shravan Bhati, SatLeo’s co-founder and CEO, the company’s core mission is applying space technology to solve tangible ground-level problems. Their thermal intelligence platform detects heat stress early through satellite data interpretation.
How Thermal Intelligence Works
Thermal intelligence functions akin to a medical thermometer for the planet, measuring Earth’s surface temperature from space to identify anomalies.
“Every object — roads, buildings, waste piles, or crops — emits heat,” Bhati explains. SatLeo’s satellites employ infrared sensors capable of detecting heat signatures invisible to the human eye and penetrating smoke, haze, or thin clouds.
The AI Advantage
Raw thermal data is vast and complex. Artificial intelligence algorithms analyze temporal and spatial temperature patterns to establish normal baselines for cities and landfills, then flag deviations such as unusually rapid heating of waste dumps, anomalous neighborhood temperatures, or early signs of crop water stress.
Rather than overwhelming officials with raw data, SatLeo presents prioritized insights through an intuitive dashboard, serving as a smart assistant that highlights emerging risks and supports preemptive action.
Practical Benefits for City Leaders
City administrations often lack the time and specialized expertise to interpret complex environmental data. SatLeo’s integrated system aids decision-makers by pinpointing priority areas for intervention to mitigate fires, health threats, and other emergencies.
This technology assists cities in transitioning from reactive crisis management to predictive, informed planning in addressing heat and pollution challenges.
Real-World Impact in Tumkur
Tumkur, a rapidly urbanizing Tier-2 city in Karnataka located approximately 70 kilometers from Bengaluru, served as a testbed for SatLeo’s technology. The city’s extensive 40-acre landfill and increasing heat stress in industrial and residential areas presented monitoring challenges.
SatLeo employed satellites and drones equipped with thermal sensors to generate comprehensive heat maps, revealing urban heat islands and pinpointing landfill sections producing excessive heat and gas emissions.
These insights transformed decision-making processes. Ashwija B V, Managing Director and CEO of Tumakuru Smart City Limited and Commissioner of Tumakuru City Corporation, stated that the technology enables faster problem identification and remediation, facilitating greenhouse gas reduction efforts, heat mapping, and open dump management to foster a safer, greener, and more comfortable urban environment.
The mapping data also optimized heat mitigation strategies, allowing focused tree planting in the most affected heat island zones rather than diffuse efforts.
Experts affirm the immense value of city-wide thermal imaging coverage, which ground-based monitoring alone cannot provide efficiently.
Lessons for Climate-Ready Cities
By visualizing invisible heat and pollution risks, Tumkur’s administration now prioritizes interventions, conserves time, and allocates resources strategically. This shift toward data-driven planning enhances resilience and aligns with global sustainable development goals.
The approach supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11 targeting inclusive, safe, resilient cities, and SDG 13 focused on urgent climate action.
Expanding the Use of This Technology
While demonstrated in urban waste management, SatLeo’s thermal intelligence has broader applications. In agriculture, it can detect early crop stress to inform efficient irrigation, preserving water and improving yields during heat waves.
Thermal data also aids flood preparedness by mapping soil moisture and temperature patterns, providing early-warning indicators before heavy rainfall events.
In disaster management, it facilitates early wildfire detection, real-time fire progression tracking, and post-fire damage assessment. Additionally, it spots infrastructure stress and emerging risks across large territories.
Integrating satellite imaging, AI analytics, and drone verification enables faster, targeted early warnings, reducing dependence on reactive emergency responses.
In a country facing mounting climate threats affecting food security and air quality, the capacity to detect rising heat promptly and respond effectively is critical. SatLeo Labs exemplifies leadership in advancing this capability across India’s urban landscape.
