The capability of obtaining spatially distributed air temperature data from remote sensing measurements is an improvement for many environmental applications focused on urban heat island, carbon emissions, 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 temperature (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 1 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.