The capability of obtaining spatially distrib- uted air temperature data from remote sensing measure- ments is an improvement for many environmental applications focused on urban heat island, carbon emis-sions, climate change, etc. This paper is based on the MODIS/Terra and Aqua data utilized to study the effect of the urban atmospheric heat island in Shanghai, China. The correlation between retrieved MODIS land surface tem- perature （LST） and air temperature measured at local weather stations was initially studied at different temporal and spatial scales. Secondly, the air temperature data with spatial resolutions of 250 m and 1 km were estimated from MODIS LST data and in-situ measured air temperature. The results showed that there is a slightly higher correlation between air temperature and MODIS LST at a 250 m resolution in spring and autumn on an annual scale than observed at a I km resolution. Although the distribution pattern of the air temperature thermal field varies in different seasons, the urban heat island （UHI） in Shanghai is characterized by a distribution pattern of multiple centers, with the central urban area as the primary center and the built-up regions in each district as the sub- centers. This study demonstrates the potential not only for estimating the distribution of the air temperature thermal field from MODIS LST with 250 m resolution in spring and autumn in Shanghai, but also for providing scientific and effective methods for monitoring and studying UHI effect in a Chinese mega-city such as Shanghai.
