An infrared satellite image showing recent observed cloud cover presented as a single tile map overlay.
Images are updated every 3 hours with a 15 minute delay due to processing times.
The infrared image shows the invisible infrared radiation emitted directly by cloud tops and land or ocean surfaces. The warmer an object is, the more intensely it emits radiation, thus allowing us to determine its temperature. These intensities can be converted into greyscale tones, with cooler temperatures showing as lighter tones and warmer as darker.
Lighter areas of cloud show where cloud tops are cooler and therefore the location of weather features like fronts and shower clouds. The advantage of infrared images is that they can be recorded 24 hours a day. However, as low cloud, has similar temperatures to the underlying surface, these features are not as easy to recognise as with the visible satellite.
The image is provided without an underlying map. The boundary box for this image is 48° to 61° north and 12° west to 5° east.
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Last updated: 20 June 2014