Abstract. The detection of plumes produced by industrial accidents with the use of NOAA/AVHRR thermal imagery, may be substantially supported in urban areas due to the presence of the heat island phenomenon. In this study, an attempt is made to classify the urban web on the basis of the heat island and its impact on the brightness temperatures. The application of the classification scheme on a night-time thermal infrared NOAA-14 image depicting the urban web of Athens, demonstrates the potential of this classification for the detection of a plume caused by a fire in a warehouse. Detecting the plume in this specific case, is favoured by the urban heat island phenomenon due to which the urban surface has higher temperature compared to the adjacent environment and the above plume. As a result, the distinction of the pixels corresponding to the plume is more effective
