Europe’s most advanced weather satellite comes online
The first third-generation EUMETSAT Meteosat is now fully operational, in a major step forward for forecasting.
Some of the most advanced meteorological technology on the planet, the new equipment relies on two main instruments – the Flexible Combined Imager [FCI] and Lightning Imager [LI]. Data produced is then disseminated to a national meteorological services and other stakeholders for operational use, and it is hoped this could save lives and livelihoods through more accurate weather predictions, flagging extreme and severe evens before they happen.
‘We have been working with our member states’ meteorological services to ensure they can make the best use of the data, which is essential for one of the main challenges they face – the rapid detection and forecasting of severe weather so that citizenry, civil authorities and first responders receive timely warnings,’ said EUMETSAT Director-General Phil Evans.
‘When the full constellation of MTG is in place, it will be possible, for the first time, to observe the full lifecycle of a convective storm, from before clouds begin to form through to detection of lightning strikes,’ he continued.
In addition to improving forecasting for European countries, the data will also be used to support the EU-funded Early Warnings in Africa project, led by the African Union Commission. The initiative will now have access to far more advanced Earth observations, making early alert systems more effective and bolstering resilience.
Last year, Environment Journal published a long read on the off-world satellite technologies contributing to environmental recovery and protection. You can revisit the article here.
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Image: EUMETSAT