The infrared enhanced color image to the right is mainly designed for the detection of convective clouds. It is used to discern the deep convection in convective clouds. The deeper the convective clouds into the upper troposphere the higher the cloud tops and the colder the temperature of the cloud tops.

One easy way to understand this imagery is to look down from the bird's eye view. Different colors represent different cloud-top heights. For instance, A and B shown in the picture are two convective cells.

Convective Cell A:
The coldest cloud-top temperature is lower than -80.2°C. The development of this convective cell is asymmetrical. It is vigorous on the right hand side of the convective clouds, the color changed rapidly from green to purple. Accordingly, it is not easy to tell the gradations of color from yellow, red, white, black to blue. But on the left hand side, the color changed is obviously. It means the north-east wind in the upper atmosphere makes the cloud extending to the south-westand is cirrus stratus.

Convective Cell B:
This convective cloud is composed of several small isolated cells. In this example we regard to the largest cell as convective cell B. The coldest cloud-top temperature is lower than -80.2°C as well. But it is more symmetrical than convective cell A. The development of this convective cell is less vigorous. The gradations in color are, therefore, very clear on the infrared enhanced color image.