HeatSense Africa: AI-Driven Satellite Insights
Summary
In 2025, WEO SAS committed to deploying its AI-powered Resilient Cities Monitor to address extreme heat in select pilot cities and equip municipalities with the data and insights needed to respond to rising urban heat by 2027. This digital platform integrates artificial intelligence, interactive dashboards, and satellite imagery from Copernicus—the European Space Agency’s Earth observation program. WEO will contribute its technology, data science capabilities, and implementation support to ensure effective deployment, and Copernicus provides publicly available data that allows for consistent and detailed monitoring of environmental conditions from space. The system can deliver updates at the frequency that best suits a city’s needs, from daily to annual updates, offering the agility to respond to short-term climate events as well as to track long-term urban planning impacts. The insights are designed to be actionable, supporting decisions on cooling investments, urban development, and emergency preparedness.
Approach
WEO commits to deploying its AI-powered Resilient Cities Monitor, a digital platform, to address the extreme heat challenge in select pilot cities by equipping African municipalities with the data and insights needed to respond to rising urban heat. The system integrates artificial intelligence, interactive dashboards, and satellite imagery from Copernicus—the European Space Agency’s Earth observation program. Copernicus provides publicly available data that allows for consistent and detailed monitoring of environmental conditions from space.
The platform combines this satellite data with WEO’s proprietary technology and analytics to firstly enhance their resolution and then generate heat risk analytics and support prioritization and tracking of green infrastructure interventions. The system can deliver updates at the frequency that best suits a city’s needs, from daily to annual updates, offering the agility to respond to short-term climate events as well as to track long-term urban planning impacts.
Through a user-friendly dashboard, city officials can pinpoint heat hotspots, evaluate how greenery and infrastructure are affecting temperatures, and prioritize interventions to protect vulnerable populations. The insights are designed to be actionable, supporting decisions on cooling investments, urban development, and emergency preparedness.
WEO will contribute its technology, data science capabilities, and implementation support to ensure effective deployment. Each city will receive a dashboard tailored to its local priorities, from managing informal settlements to guiding green space expansion. The platform balances standardized, scalable tools with local customization.
Mombasa will serve as the coordination hub, facilitating regional collaboration and peer learning among participating cities. Leading Cities will support implementation through its international municipal network. Together, the partnership will deliver a replicable, data-driven model that helps cities reduce heat-related risks, improve public health outcomes, and build long-term resilience in the face of a warming climate.
Action Plan
This two-year commitment runs from Q12025 to Q12027. The first year focuses on piloting the Resilient Cities Monitor in Mombasa, including platform development, deployment, and early stakeholder engagement. The second year scales the system to five additional cities (Abuja, Monrovia, Victoria, Freetown, Sekondi-Takoradi) while strengthening cross-city collaboration, raising additional funding, and ensuring long-term sustainability.
The goal in 2025 is to successfully deploy the platform in Mombasa, generate actionable insights, and secure co-funding to enable full implementation across all partner cities.
Q1 2025: Launch project coordination. Conduct consultations with Mombasa officials and partners. Finalize technical requirements and initiate platform development. Begin fundraising outreach to multilateral funders and climate resilience programs.
Q2 2025: Complete platform architecture and dashboard design. Secure cities’ buy-in and formalize partner roles. Engage potential funders through proposal submissions and technical briefings.
Q3 2025: Deploy the Resilient Cities Monitor in Mombasa. Begin heat and green infrastructure mapping. Calibrate satellite and AI data layers.
Q4 2025: Deliver the first round of dashboards to Mombasa stakeholders. Facilitate workshops for training and interpretation. Continue active fundraising to close the remaining financing gap for 2026 deployment.
In 2026, WEO will expand the system to additional cities, continue capacity-building, and strengthen mechanisms for data-driven policy and investment.
Q1 2026: Initiate stakeholder engagement and technical alignment in Monrovia, Victoria, and Freetown. Adapt platform features to reflect local data and planning needs.
Q2 2026: Launch deployments and training in Monrovia, Victoria, and Freetown. Begin second year of platform use in Mombasa. Secure supplemental funding for ongoing operations and scaling.
Q3 2026: Initiate deployment in Abuja and Sekondi-Takoradi. Expand regional learning through peer exchanges and joint workshops.
Q4 2026/Q1 2027: Ensure operational dashboards are active in all six cities. Consolidate project learnings, report on key outcomes, and outline a sustainability and financing roadmap for long-term continuation.
Background
Extreme heat is a growing public health and urban planning crisis across African cities, where climate change and rapid urbanization are compounding existing vulnerabilities. According to the World Meteorological Organization (2024) , Africa is warming faster than the global average, and over 200 million urban residents are affected by heatwaves annually. In 2023 alone, at least 15,700 people across Africa died due to extreme weather events, including prolonged heat waves (CarbonBrief, 2023) .
In Mali, one such wave caused 102 deaths in just four days at a single hospital in Bamako, highlighting the deadly impact of rising temperatures on vulnerable populations (Balima, 2024) . In Mombasa, Kenya, heat-related hospitalizations have increased by 12% over five years, especially affecting low-income neighborhoods with minimal green coverage (CarbonBrief, 2023) . In Monrovia, Liberia, 70% of the population lives in informal settlements with poor ventilation, intensifying heat risks (World Bank, 2020) . Victoria, Seychelles, faces heat build-up from rapid development, with less than 20% urban tree cover. Freetown, Sierra Leone, has seen a 1.4°C rise in average temperatures since 2000, exacerbating existing health vulnerabilities (World Bank, 2024) . Abuja, Nigeria, has expanded its concrete footprint by 35% in a decade, worsening the urban heat island effect (Koko, 2021) . Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, has experienced a 45% population increase since 2015, with limited planning data to address heat exposure (Biney, 2024) .
Despite these risks, most African cities lack high-resolution, actionable data to pinpoint urban heat hotspots, evaluate the effectiveness of green infrastructure, or guide interventions. Without these insights, decision-makers cannot respond effectively to the growing threat.
There is a need to close that data gap, which can be done by equipping cities with artificial intelligence (AI) -powered satellite analytics and interactive dashboards, enabling them to make informed, timely decisions that reduce heat-related deaths and build long-term climate resilience.
Progress Update
Partnership Opportunities
WEO is seeking implementation and funding partners to support the deployment and scaling of the Resilient Cities Monitor. Specifically, the project seeks municipal governments, international donors, and development agencies interested in mitigating urban heat impacts in African cities. The team is also looking for technical collaborators in green infrastructure and urban planning to support data interpretation and intervention design. Media support to amplify awareness and results is also welcomed.,WEO is offering its advanced AI-powered urban heat monitoring technology, including access to its satellite data platform, expert dashboards, and thermal analytics models. The organization will provide implementation support, training for municipal users, and best practices from past deployments. Partners can benefit from technical expertise in remote sensing, machine learning, and climate resilience strategy. WEO is also offering visibility through its global sustainability network and channels.